Goals for this week

Last week went a lot better in the goal-setting arena than the previous week. I really am enjoying setting goals at the beginning of every week. It's so great to know at the end of a week that I've progressed in the areas that are most important to our family during this season!

Here are my goals from last week:

Personal:

::Read through Day 80 of the Bible reading plan I've been doing
::Exercise at least 3 times
::Finish my book for April (I'm almost finished)

Parenting/Family:
::Work with Katie to memorize question 12 of the children's catechism

::Make a plan for starting preschool with Katie

Education:
::Do the reading for Unit 11 of Family Herbalist Course

Home Management:
::Unpack suitcase and get things settled in from our trip
::Follow along with 4 Weeks to a More Organized Home Wednesday through Friday.

Work/Blog:
::Work 4 hours for my work-from-home job
::Post 4 times

And now, my goals for this week:

Personal:

::Read through Day 92 of the Bible reading plan I've been doing

::Review Psalm 119:1-8 (I started memorizing Psalm 119 at the beginning of the year and dropped off memorization during my first trimester. I want to review what I had memorized and get back into the habit of weekly memorization)
::Exercise 5 times
::Finish my book for April, start a book for May

Parenting/Family:
::Work with Katie to memorize question 13 and 14 of the children's catechism

::Make a plan for starting preschool with Katie

::Create a chore chart for Katie

Education:
::Finish Unit 11 of the Family Herbalist Course

Home Management:
::Declutter for 1 hour and 15 minutes (15 minutes/day, Monday-Friday)
::Start the Routine Challenges from 31 Days to Clean (it's in the reader-only downloads section of the site)

Work/Blog:
::Work 6 hours for my work-from-home job
::Post 5 times

This post is linked to Money Saving Mom's goal link-up. 

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. Thanks for supporting this site!

Menu Plan, April 30-May 6

May already? Yikes! The days are flying a little too fast for this Mama.

I've been checking the weather when I do my weekly menu planning because it's been so eratic around here--90* one day, cold and rainy the next! This week looks to be a mix of both, so I've planned accordingly. The main reason it matters is because Ben's shop isn't air conditioned, so I like to serve him a cooler, less heavy meal on days when it's been really hot. He hasn't ever complained, but I don't think he'd love coming home to a bowl of stew on such a day, ya know?

Now that dairy has been successfully added into Ben's diet, he's experimenting with adding eggs back in. This week's menu plan will reflect that change (and here's hoping he does fine with eggs, because we love them around here--and since he hasn't been eating them, I've been spending around $12/week on the only sausage in our grocery store that he can eat!).

As another note, we just ordered 1/4 of a grass-fed cow (for $2.50/lb!!) that we'll be splitting with Ben's brothers. We're eating a bunch of organic chicken this week that I got reduced for quick sale at Kroger because I'm out of beef and don't really want to buy much (any) since we're going to get a whole bunch (for much, MUCH less money) pretty soon.

Breakfasts:
Hashbrowns, scrambled eggs, fruit
Cinnamon roll baked oatmeal, scrambled eggs
Breakfast casserole, coconut flour cheddar biscuits, fruit

Lunches:
smoothies
leftovers

Dinners:
Taco salad (with homemade salsa)
White lasagna, salad
Tammy's fried chicken, mashed potatoes with gravy, salad
Pasta salad with chicken
Breakfast casserole, coconut flour cheddar biscuits, fruit (we'll eat this Saturday night and use the leftovers to streamline Sunday morning!)
Dinner at the farm with Ben's family

What are y'all fixing this week? I feel like I'm finally (after three months!) getting used to cooking elimination diet-friendly recipes rather than always feeling like I'm stuck in a rut. :)

If you need some inspiration, head over to OrgJunkie's Menu Plan Monday!

It's all in your perspective

So often in the daily tasks of wife and mama it's easy to look at everything that has to be done (and then redone again and again...) and get frustrated. But, that won't make the tasks go away and a change in perspective can make the mundane, even annoying tasks, bring joy.

You can get irritated over a messy face and floor to clean or find joy in another healthy meal enjoyed and a baby who can mostly feed himself--and one who looks stinkin' cute even with chili on his face! Many women long for a baby of their own with a sweet, messy face to clean up.

You can get frustrated over the never-ending laundry pile or be thankful for plenty of nice clothes, machines that do the washing, and the people you love so dearly who wear the clothes.

The never-ending mess can be frustrating. When you consider families who have lost their child(ren) or haven't been able to have any, ones who long for sweet (inquisitive) babes to have fun (and even make messes!) in their homes, it might be easier to be thankful.

When your kiddos ask to 'help' you in the kitchen, you could sigh, knowing the task will take twice as long--or you could be thankful willing helpers and a chance to make fun memories together.

 See? So many tasks in our lives as wives and mamas can go from drudgery to finer things if we only change our perspective!

4 Weeks to a More Organized Home, Day 18

Today started a little late (for me, at least!). One of the things I do for the Home Health Agency I work for from home is after hours/weekend scheduling. A caregiver called off at 3:30 this morning for a 6:30 shift, so I was up for a large portion of the time from 3:30 to 6:30 working on that. I thought I'd just stay up, but after reading my Bible for a while I got reeeeally tired, so I went back to sleep. Ben got up with the children and I slept in an extra hour (what a guy!).

I got up, got dressed to shoes, fixed breakfast (we ate at around 9:30--yikes!), made a to-do list for the day based on my weekly goals and started picking up around the house. I played with the children some, chatted with my Mom a little bit, and before I knew it, it was already time to fix lunch.

After a quick lunch, I read to the children and put them down for their naps, did some work, and then started on today's assignment right about the time the children woke up.

I have to admit, after thoroughly enjoying the results of the first two weeks of Crystal's 4 Weeks to a More Organized Home, I was really excited to get back to it today--until I saw the assignment. Clean the closet floors. I have been putting off cleaning our closet for a long time simply because I was dreading the task. Our bedroom closet was so bad I didn't even try to work on the others because I wore my pregnant self out just cleaning ours!

 

See? Pretty bad.

After taking everything out (besides the six bins of clothes), I filled up a bag of trash and a bag and box of items to give away. Then I cleaned the floor and put everything else back in. 

Much better!

After we finished in there, I took a break for a little bit and then fixed dinner. When Ben came home, he helped pick up the mess of toys in the living room--thankfully! Since I was pretty worn out, I let myself throw everything in the dishwasher rather and took a shower, bathed the children, and snuggled up and read stories. A marvelous way to end a productive day!

Have y'all kept up with the challenges? I'm excited (nervous?) to see what the assignments are for the rest of the week!

Goals for this week

 

Last week's goals didn't happen. I only accomplished the ones I was set to accomplish before we left home--so at least Ben had a clean house and plenty of food to eat! I will say, the week was full of wonderful fellowship and sweet time with people we love, so I don't consider it wasted by any means!

Here are my goals from last week:

Personal:

::Read through Day 80 of the Bible reading plan I've been doing (I got behind during my first trimester--not sure if I'll end up finishing this year, but I'm just plugging along anyway)
::Exercise at least 3 times
::Read 15 pages of my book for April

Parenting/Family:
::Work with Katie to memorize question 12 of the children's catechism
::Prepare plenty of easy food for Ben to enjoy while we're gone

Education:
::Do the reading for Unit 11 of Family Herbalist Course

Home Management:
::Leave the house in an tidy state for Ben

Work/Blog:
::Work 3 hours for my work-from-home job
::Post 4 times

So, let's try this again! :)

Personal:

::Read through Day 80 of the Bible reading plan I've been doing
::Exercise at least 3 times
::Finish my book for April

Parenting/Family:
::Work with Katie to memorize question 12 of the children's catechism

::Make a plan for starting preschool with Katie

Education:
::Do the reading for Unit 11 of Family Herbalist Course

Home Management:
::Unpack suitcase and get things settled in from our trip
::Follow along with 4 Weeks to a More Organized Home Wednesday through Friday.

Work/Blog:
::Work 4 hours for my work-from-home job
::Post 4 times

Hopefully I'll make it through a little more of the list this week. :)

Need some goal-setting inspiration? Head over to Money Saving Mom each Monday (yes--I'm late!).

Menu Plan, April 24-29

Arroz con Pollo--not on the menu this week, but I wish it was!

The children and I got back yesterday from being out of town since Wednesday. We had such a nice time visiting with a dear friend as well as a bunch of our family--but, it's always so nice to be home! I spent most of the day Tuesday getting food ready for Ben before we left, so I think he ate well while we were gone.

I checked the weather for this week and it's supposed to be pretty chilly in our neck of the woods, so I'm planning a couple of frugal and yummy soups. Ben isn't a big soup fan, but there are certainly a few soups he enjoys--and he has successfully added dairy back in without it affecting his asthma (yay!), so I'll be incorporating a little more dairy into our meals as well.

Breakfasts:
Brown rice grits with cheese, butter, and turkey kielbasa (x2)
Hash browns, scrambled eggs, sausage (for Ben), fruit (x2)
Scones, fruit (x2)

Lunches:
Smoothies
Leftovers

Dinners:
Potato soup (I skip the bullion and use broth & I usually use meat other than ham), salad
Homemade chicken noodle soup, millet biscuits
Leftovers
Nitrate-free beef hot dogs, carrot sticks, chips
Peppered beef shank in red wine, brown rice, salad (I didn't make this last time)
Dinner at the farm with Ben's family

So, what are y'all eating this week? I'm always looking for new ideas!

Goals for This Week

Setting goals for each week is so motivating to me. I love having a list to cross off, and planning at the beginning of the week what things I want to do helps me know that, despite how it feels some times, I actually am progressing in the areas that are priorities for us right now.

Here is an update on my goals from last week:

Personal:

::Read through Day 70 of the Bible reading plan I've been doing (I got behind during my first trimester--not sure if I'll end up finishing this year, but I'm just plugging along anyway)
::Exercise at least 4 times
::Read 25 pages of my book for April

Parenting:
::Work with Katie to memorize questions 10 and 11 of the children's catechism
::Continue working with the children daily teaching them to pick up their toys

Education:
::Complete Unit 10 of my Family Herbalist course

Home Management:
::Get the laundry folded and put away (I have a huge mountain of clean laundry--I'm going to have my mother's helper help with this some tomorrow!)
::Continue doing each day's assignments for 4 Weeks to a More Organized Home

Work/Blog:
::Work 6 hours for my work-from-home job (I was only able to work 5 hours and 15 minutes because the server at corporate was down one day so I couldn't get work done)
::Put up 6 posts this week (I posted 5 times)

This week will look quite a bit different, as the children and I will be out of town Wednesday through Monday. I definitely still have things I want to accomplish, but obviously I won't be at home to do a lot of the things we normally do.

I'm really excited about our last minute trip. Wednesday we'll be visiting a dear friend. Thursday my Dad is coming up on a train (into the same city my friend lives in) and we'll pick him up and head to my Grandma's house, coming home Monday after we drop Dad off at the train station. It will be so nice to see so many people we love--but I'll definitely miss Ben!

With that in mind, here are my goals for this week:

Personal:

::Read through Day 80 of the Bible reading plan I've been doing (I got behind during my first trimester--not sure if I'll end up finishing this year, but I'm just plugging along anyway)
::Exercise at least 3 times
::Read 15 pages of my book for April

Parenting/Family:
::Work with Katie to memorize question 12 of the children's catechism
::Prepare plenty of easy food for Ben to enjoy while we're gone

Education:
::Do the reading for Unit 11 of Family Herbalist Course

Home Management:
::Leave the house in an tidy state for Ben

Work/Blog:
::Work 3 hours for my work-from-home job
::Post 4 times

For lots of goal-setting inspiration each Monday, head over to Money Saving Mom. 

4 Weeks to a More Organized Home, Day 10

Crystal at Money Saving Mom has been hosting a little challenge called 4 Weeks to a More Organized Home this month. Last week, I posted almost every day about the challenges. I've kept up with it each day this week, and I'm actually getting around to posting about today's assignments!

From today's post:

Day 10 Assignment

::Get dressed in something that makes you feel great {there’s something about dressing in clothes that make you feel great that just gives you more energy and zest for life! Get your free copy of SarahMae’s ebook, Frumps to Pumps, if you need more motivation in this.}

::Sit down with a cup of coffee or tea, refer to your list of weekly goals, and make a list of no more than 5-7 specific things you want to accomplish today.

::Complete your morning routine {if you don’t have a morning routine, take some time to create one today! Read my How to Develop a Routine That Works–And Stick With It series for step-by-step help.}

::Dust all ceiling fans and clean all light fixtures in your house. Check for burned out light bulbs and replace.

::Set the timer for at least 15 minutes and do something you really enjoy and that relaxes and rejuvenates you. If you need ideas, here are a few: read, write, call a friend, pray, exercise, bake, play with your children, laugh with your husband, stop by the bookstore and browse the book selection, work in the garden, or take a nap! Take some time to just stop and enjoy life today!

I had planned to get up early, but my plan was halted because Katie had crawled in bed with us and she started to wake up when I got up, so I laid back down. I really didn't want to have a grumpy 3-year-old up early with me! I've had to change my original morning routine around. Benjamin has dropped his morning nursing (so he's down to just once a day *sniff*) so I can't plan to read my Bible while I feel him anymore.

We had a quick breakfast of leftover baked oatmeal cups and scrambled eggs (chicken sausage for Ben, who isn't eating eggs while on the elimination diet) then got on with the rest of the morning routine. After we had family worship and Ben left for work, I did some cleaning and blogging and the children played together. Once things were picked up, we headed out for a nice, long walk.

When we got home, we had lunch (leftovers for Ben and peanut butter smoothies for the children and me-YUM!), read stories, and then the kiddos went down for a nap. I did some work and also relaxed a little bit--and I bought a new eBook!

I've been having a hard time keeping our grocery budget down with my need for extra protein (and just extra food in general) and Ben's need for "different" foods, so I thought The Everything Beans Book might inspire me with some new, healthy, frugal recipes. I'm looking forward to looking through it tomorrow when I plan meals for next week.

Once the children woke up, I got back to cleaning while they watched a DVD and snacked on strawberries and some carrots with homemade ranch dip. That's when I tackled the fans and light fixtures. I didn't take pictures of everything, but I am going to humble myself and show you before and after pictures of our bedroom fan. Oh, my!

Ahem. Much better.

After I finished dusting the fans and light fixtures, we definitely needed to vacuum. The children helped me clean up all their mess so we could actually move the vacuum across the floor without running over/sucking up toys. Then we folded the clothes and I got rid of two days' worth (fourteen total) of items--I have a growing Good Will pile and have thrown several things away. I would have never guessed I'd find seven items per day to get rid of!

Right about the time we finished that up, Ben came home and I fixed a quick dinner of pasta with red sauce. And now the kitchen is all clean and we're just spending the evening together. :)

Have any of y'all continued with the challenge this week? I'd love to hear how it's going for you!

5 Reasons Mamas Should Study the Bible

Photo Credit

It's hard to find time in the midst of babies, diapers, toddlers, cooking, and everything else that has to be done to read your Bible. I know. I've been varying degrees of tired for most of the past (almost) four years, since I became pregnant for the first time. I have certainly had many months throughout my years as a mama that I've slacked off majorly in this department of faithful studying of Scripture.

Lately, I've been discovering anew how important it is to make time every.single.day to spend time reading and studying God's word. 

Why?

1. You can't know God outside of His Word.

The Bible is God's revelation of Himself to us. If anything matters in this life, it is knowing God and studying the Bible, which is the entirety of God's revelation, is how we know Him.

"And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent." ~John 17:3

2. You need it--on the good days and the bad.

"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." ~Matthew 11:28

"But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." ~Matthew 4:4


As we go through our days ministering to our families and others the Lord brings to us, it is easy to grow weary. We need the constant encouragement and rest for our spirits that the Scriptures provide. And on the days you're not tired? You still need God's Word--to help keep you from sin, so you can speak it to others as you have opportunity. You need the Bible, period.

If your family needs a wife/mother who is well-rested and physically healthy, how much more do they need a mother whose soul is healthy and resting in Christ?

3. You can't grow in Christ-likeness without it.

"Wherewithal shall a young man [or wife, mama] cleanse his [her] way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word." ~Psalm 119:9

As Christians, we will never be perfect before we are with Christ in Glory. But, our life should have an increasing pattern of obedience as we walk with the Lord. How do we learn to obey? By studying God's Word.

4.  You can't point your children to Christ without it.

"And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up." ~Deuteronomy 6:6-7

If we will disciple our children, we must first disciple ourselves. In order to talk with them about the things of God as we go about our days with them, we have to saturate our own minds with the things of God.

5. You can't disciple other women unless you know the Bible.

"The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things; That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed." ~Titus 2:3-5 

For now, my children are the main focus of my disciple-making efforts. I'm not aged, but, Lord willing, I will be eventually. And when I am, I want to be qualified to fulfill to role God has called older Christian women in the church to--that of discipling younger women. If I don't spend my younger years studying God's Word, I will be unfit to teach others when I reach that season of life.

Ideally, I like to get up early and have time to read the Scriptures in the quiet before my children wake up. Since Benjamin was born, this hasn't happened most days since I was in the exhaustion of first trimester right around the time he started consistently sleeping through the night again.

If you can't get up early, consider the following:
::Read the Bible to your children.
::Read the Bible while your children are playing nearby
::Read while the children are napping
::Read while you're nursing the baby
::Read the Bible when you would normally be reading blogs or checking facebook

It doesn't have to be a lot and it doesn't have to take a long time, but I'm sure we can all find some time to devote to reading the Bible every day.

And if we can't? We're just too busy, period.

Staying Healthy through Multiple Pregnancies, Part 2

If you missed the first post in this mini-series, let me fill you in a little bit.

We've been talking about how to stay healthy when you're having several children who are pretty close together. I know mine aren't super close (no "Irish twins" so far), but my third will be born before my oldest turns four, so they are still pretty close together. Ben and I started focusing on getting me as healthy as possible before I became pregnant this time around, and have continued to prioritize my health throughout this pregnancy.

In the first post, I discussed pregnancy nutrition, which is probably the most important issue to focus on in keeping yourself (and your developing baby) healthy. This time, I want to draw your attention to the importance of exercise, and the benefits of chiropractic care.

Exercise during pregnancy

Photo Credit

 I didn't really exercise much while I was pregnant with Katie. I was working 40 hours a week and just didn't feel like it. I gained over 50 pounds that pregnancy! I didn't do much exercise between my pregnancy with Katie and my pregnancy with Benjamin, either.

Even though I started walking regularly in my second trimester with Benjamin, I definitely felt the effects of my lack of fitness after he was born. My abs were shot, and as a result, I had a lot of trouble with my back for many months following his birth. In fact, it's still not completely better.

I have gone to my chiropractor with some level of frequency since before Benjamin was born just to keep me functioning, but I noticed the biggest long-term improvement when I started doing this Postnatal Bootcamp DVD . I think strengthening my core made all the difference in the world. I did this workout regularly up until I suspected I was pregnant.

Once my suspicion was confirmed, I bought the Prenatal workout DVD set by the same lady and have been really enjoying it this pregnancy. I try to exercise 5 days per week (though that doesn't always happen!), trying to do the yoga portion every day (and alternating between cardio/toning and walking) because I notice a big difference in my back and hips if I do.

In my experience, exercise during and after pregnancy (assuming you have the OK from your doctor or midwife and you're doing exercises that are safe for your stage of pregnancy or postpartum recovery) can be very beneficial. It's energizing, helps moderate weight gain, helps with fluid retention and circulation--just all around good stuff. And, keeping yourself in shape during pregnancy makes it much easier to get back to your pre-pregnancy body and prepare your body for carrying another baby eventually as well.

Chiropractic Care During Pregnancy
I was introduced to chiropractic care when I started having trouble with my sciatic nerve at about 35 weeks pregnant with Benjamin. After hobbling around for a few days, I finally went in and ended up going regularly. I also had really awful back labor with Benjamin.

Before that time I really had barely had any back pain in my entire life, pregnant or not. Since then, my back hasn't ever been 100% perfect again and I have grown to love my chiropractor. Some women like getting their toenails painted? I like getting my back cracked. ;)

Between my pregnancies, I had been going for adjustments just when I felt like I really needed to. At my first prenatal check-up, one of the burning questions I had for my midwife was how in the world I could avoid back labor and her advice was to get regular chiropractic care throughout the pregnancy.

I've been going every two weeks, and we're hoping that keeping everything well aligned will do the trick and prevent the back labor when this sweet babe gets around to making his or her appearance. Back labor is usually related to the baby's position (though Benjamin was not posterior), and having a well aligned back and pelvis makes it harder for the baby to work him/herself into a bad position.

So, that's that! What are your experiences with exercise and chiropractic care during pregnancy? How have you moms of many kept yourselves healthy through so many pregnancies?

In the next installment (and I think the last), we'll be talking about some supplements I highly recommend.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you order any of the products off of Amazon, I will earn a small kickback. Thank you for supporting this site!

Menu Plan, April 9-15

 

So, the last several weeks, I have failed miserably with planning enough snacks for Ben (who is still off dairy, gluten, soy, corn, eggs, and peanuts/tree-nuts). He has started losing weight. For some people, this might be good, but he really (really) doesn't have any extra to spare!

I spent a good deal of time on Saturday finding new recipes and snack ideas, and I've also decided to try to make enough dinner to have leftovers for lunch  most days so he is able to have a hearty lunch. Saying we're having snacks for lunch doesn't work out well for him if there aren't any snacks he can eat!

So, here is what I have on the menu plan for this week.

Breakfasts
Baked oatmeal
Cinnamon roll baked oatmeal with a glaze made of powdered sucanat and coconut milk
Hashbrowns, scrambled eggs (for the children and I), chicken sausage (for Ben), fruit
Millet biscuits, scrambled eggs (for the children and I), chicken sausage (for Ben), fruit
Stovetop Brown Rice Pudding (from Healthy Snacks to Go)

Lunches
Dinner leftovers
Smoothies

Dinners
Homemade chicken noodle soup, Millet biscuits 
Orange chicken, brown rice, steamed veggies  
Bun-less hamburgers (wrapped in lettuce) with cheese and caramelized onions, pineapple, veggies with dip
Peppered Beef Shank in Wine over brown rice, steamed veggies
Brown rice pasta with meat sauce, salad
Leftovers
Dinner at the farm with Ben's family

Snacks
Brown rice cakes with all-fruit spread
Beef jerky (from Healthy Snacks to Go)
Smoothies
Healthy Chocolate Frosting Shots
Homemade granola bars (from Healthy Snacks to Go)
Crispy Roasted Chickpeas (also from Healthy Snacks to Go)
Chocomole :)


What are y'all cooking? If you need some inspiration, be sure to head over to OrgJunkie's Menu Plan Monday each week!

Disclosure: I'm a Kitchen Stewardship affiliate and will earn a small kickback if you purchase the Healthy Snacks to Go eBook. I love it, and hope y'all are able to enjoy it as well!

Goals for this week

Last week, I got back in the swing of setting goals and it really does make a tremendous difference for me! Here are my goals for this week:

Personal:

::Read through Day 70 of the Bible reading plan I've been doing (I got behind during my first trimester--not sure if I'll end up finishing this year, but I'm just plugging along anyway)
::Exercise at least 4 times
::Read 25 pages of my book for April

Parenting:
::Work with Katie to memorize questions 10 and 11 of the children's catechism
::Continue working with the children daily teaching them to pick up their toys

Education:
::Complete Unit 10 of my Family Herbalist course

Home Management:
::Get the laundry folded and put away (I have a huge mountain of clean laundry--I'm going to have my mother's helper help with this some tomorrow!)
::Continue doing each day's assignments for 4 Weeks to a More Organized Home

Work/Blog:
::Work 6 hours for my work-from-home job
::Put up 6 posts this week 

**My apologies to anyone who had the blank version of this post show up in their feed on Saturday night! I meant to hit "save" and accidentally clicked "Publish" instead! I reverted it back to a draft within a minute, but it still made it into some folks' feeds.**

What are your goals for this week? If you need some goal-setting inspiration, be sure to head over to Money Saving Mom.

4 Weeks to a More Organized Home: Day 5

Today started off really productively (I made it through my morning routine well before 11!), but by lunchtime, I was beat! Just keeping up with the children and various things around the house meant a few hours solid of cleaning and being up and around, and I got myself sort of worn out.

So, I took it pretty easy for a few hours. Ben fixed his own lunch and helped the children clean up their toys (reheated leftovers, easy enough!), the kids ate snacks for lunch (cheese, raisins, carrots and dip), and I fixed myself a smoothie later on. It was cold, but I had such a hankering for this peanut butter smoothie that I put on a hoodie and had one anyway! And, I uncharacteristically threw everything (including larger items I would normally hand-wash to save space) in the dishwasher so I didn't have much to clean up.

Benjamin never went to sleep at nap-time. I think he's working on teeth, so he nursed and slept some in my arms. Thankfully, at least Katie had a nice, long nap. While Katie was asleep, I did some work and also some research on natural cancer treatments for a friend who was recently diagnosed with cancer.

After sitting for a while, my lower back started hurting, so I decided to do some prenatal yoga to see if the pain would ease up. Unfortunately, it didn't, but I'm still glad I did the exercise. By the time I finished that, Katie was awake, so the children helped me tackle today's assignment, which was pretty simple (thankfully!):

::Remove your couch cushions and clean out any crumbs, toys, or other miscellaneous items you find. Use an attachment on your vacuum to vacuum the cushions, underneath the cushions, and all crevices of your furniture. Spot clean the fabric, if needed.

I also cleaned underneath the sofa and loveseat since that was actually part of yesterday's assignment. I just read the first part about cleaning under the bed and my brain didn't compute the rest. :)

Underneath the sofa--not too awful, except for the age old apple. Yuck!

Underneath the loveseat (the children again fascinated by the rearranged room!)

 

The last picture is everything I collected from underneath/in the sofa and loveseat. The grocery bag has the trash in it. 

It was another productive day, albeit a little more relaxed for this pregnant mama's sake. :)

I've really enjoyed keeping up with the projects this week and I'm looking forward to continuing next week. And, hopefully doing some more "normal" blogging, too!

4 Weeks to a More Organized Home: Day 4

Today was Day 4 of Money Saving Mom's 4 Weeks to a More Organized Home. I'm really enjoying the challenge! Today's assignments were:

::Get dressed in something that makes you feel great.

 ::Sit down with a cup of coffee or tea, refer to your list of weekly goals, and make a list of no more than 5-7 specific things you want to accomplish today.

 ::Complete your morning routine {if you don’t have a morning routine, take some time to create one today! Read my How to Develop a Routine That Works–And Stick With It series for step-by-step help.}

::Set the timer for 15 minutes and do a quick-clean of your bathroom. Need specific directions? Read this article on How to Clean Your Bathroom in 15 Minutes.

::Clean out underneath your beds and furniture. Remove clutter and trash and put it away or throw it away. Move the furniture (if possible) and vacuum underneath.


::Find 7 items to get rid of today. Throw them out, stick them in a donate or garage sale box, give them to a friend who can use them, or list them on Craigslist or eBay.

Our day started off a little less productive than the last couple days. We slept in because we were out late last night. Since we got such a late start, I couldn't do my morning all in order because I had to start breakfast right after I nursed Benjamin/read my Bible. I also had some business things to help Ben with before he headed out to his shop.

So, finally at 11 (!) or so, I finished up my morning routine. We had a snack, did my prenatal workout DVD, and then fixed lunch.

After lunch, Ben moved the bed for me so I could do today's assignment. I got the kids down for a nap, cleaned up the kitchen, did an hour of work, and then took care of a handful of things on the computer before tackling today's cleaning projects.

I actually hadn't moved the bed to clean under it since we moved into this house in August of 2009! I found a couple things we had been looking for, and threw away a grocery bag full of stuff.

 
In the end, the only item I left under the bed is a storage bin I use for maternity clothes (or regular clothes when I'm wearing my maternity clothes).

I didn't vacuum when I did the organizing because the children were asleep, so Ben was kind enough to vacuum for me when he got home from work. The children were so fascinated by seeing our room looking different.

 After I finished that, the children were still asleep, so I went ahead and spent 15 minutes cleaning the bathroom. I spend a couple minutes per day keeping our main bathroom clean, so I decided to work in the master bathroom instead. One thing that has amazed me during this challenge has been how much a room can improve with only 15 minutes of work!

Once I finished that, I was able to read my Bible a little bit more before Katie woke up (Benjamin slept longer than she did). She normally watches a DVD after nap-time, so I set her up with that and a snack and I started on dinner. It was about 5:45 by this point. We normally eat by 6:30, but I got started later since the  children slept late.

After dinner, I cleaned up the kitchen and Ben took the kiddos to his family's farm to spend time with their grandparents and uncles (and one aunt!) so I could have a little bit of down time. I've been enjoying listening to Money Saving Mom's webcast, and I'm going to fold some clothes as soon as this post is up.

How did your day go?

4 Weeks to a More Organized Home: Day 3

For those who weren't here yesterday, I'm joining in Money Saving Mom's 4 Weeks to a More Organized Home this month. It's so exciting to have two really productive days in a row!

Today's assignments were:

::Get dressed in something that makes you feel great.

::Sit down with a cup of coffee or tea, refer to your list of weekly goals, and make a list of no more than 5-7 specific things you want to accomplish today.

::Complete your morning routine 

::Set the timer for 15 minutes and do a quick-clean of your bedroom: throw out any trash, put away items that are out of place, get rid of clutter, tidy up, vacuum, and make your bed.

::Clean out your freezer(s). 

::Find 7 items to get rid of today. Throw them out, stick them in a donate or garage sale box, give them to a friend who can use them, or list them on Craigslist or eBay.

I managed to get through all of them!

The day started off with my getting dressed (though I'm sort of at that awkward stage where maternity clothes are too big and regular clothes make me look kind of fat--so I can't say it made me feel "great"), and then nursing Benjamin while I read my Bible.

The morning routine I made for myself includes (1)getting dressed to shoes, (2)nursing Benjamin while reading my Bible, (3)tidy my room and the bathroom, (4)start a load of laundry, (5)get breakfast going.

After breakfast, I made a to-do list for the day and took the kids for a long walk. I was a little worn out when we got back (from pushing the double stroller up hill!), so I rested for a while before I fixed lunch.

I've had a thing for hamburgers lately (and my hemoglobin was on the low end when I had my first prenatal labs, so maybe my body is just craving the extra meat) so I made venison burgers for lunch. Shortly after lunch, I got the kids down for naps (it took a looong time for them to get settled in!) and did some work for my work-at-home job. After I finished what I needed to for today, the kids were still napping so I jumped into cleaning.

I tidied up our bedroom for the allotted 15 minutes and then worked on the freezer.

It wasn't too bad. I only threw away one or two things. The worst part was that some bananas had thawed and refrozen, but not before some goop leaked out of the bags, so I had to scrub that up.

The only hard thing about our freezer is that it doesn't have any shelves. I know I could get some, I just never think of it when I'm out! It was good to have it all cleaned up though.

 

By the time I was finishing up the kids both woke up grumpy from their naps. After I got them settled down (with help from Ben who happened to be home early, which I was so thankful for!), I cleaned up the rest of the kitchen, did some prenatal yoga (I never did yoga until I got this pregnancy workout DVD set, but it feels SO good and is very relaxing), vacuumed, showered, and got the kids bathed.

Now, we're enjoying an evening with Ben's family to celebrate his youngest brother's birthday.

It was a very full and productive day, by God's grace! Are any of you joining in?

4 Weeks to a More Organized Home: Day 2

Now that my first trimester is pretty much over with (I'll be 13 weeks tomorrow--yay!), I am beginning to yearn for a little more structure and organization in our lives. While this wasn't an awfully hard first trimester as compared with my other two pregnancies, it was still more difficult to maintain everything like I normally {try} to.

So, even though I'm a day late, I'm joining in Money Saving Mom's 4 Weeks to a More Organized Home. I got ambitious and did both days' assignments today. It was so good to write out a to-do list and get almost everything done on it!

After writing out some goals for the week and a to-do list for today based on my goals, here's what I was able to get accomplished for the "challenge":

::Spent 15 minutes cleaning the living area (and was reminded how much you can get done in just 15 minutes!) and cleaned out the diaper bag.

Everything from the diaper bag, dumped out on our bed (it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be!):

The organized diaper bag. There was some trash to throw away (stale cheerios, anyone?), and I otherwise just put everything back where it belonged rather than just haphazardly throwing stuff in there. Much better.

That was yesterday's assignment. The assignment for Day 2 was to spend 15 minutes cleaning the kitchen and then deep clean the refrigerator, in addition to getting dressed, following your morning routine (which I didn't write out until this afternoon...hopefully I'll get that done tomorrow!), making a to-do list and finding 7 items to get rid of.

I have no idea why these photos uploaded sidways. The original files are correct. But, here is the fridge before and after.

It felt so good to get it all cleaned out! We're not vegetarians, even though most of what you see is fresh produce. Tomorrow I'll be picking up our gallon and a half of raw milk and some fresh eggs from "our" farm which will fill things up a little more. And, our freezer has a bunch of venison, as well as some grass-fed beef, and organic chicken (and sundry other randoms).

Sadly, I threw away a lot of things. It's so hard to keep food waste down during the first trimester when one's tastes are so fickle! One day something will be mouth-wateringly delicious, and the next it will make me gag.

And now, here's the box of stuff that should be heading to Good Will tomorrow. I did 14 items since I was catching up from yesterday.

Mostly I got rid of clothes Ben and I don't wear. But, I also threw in a teddy bear Katie got for free and doesn't play with, a doll she doesn't play with much (she has so many dolls!), and a corny trinket I got for Ben for Valentine's day while we were courting. I also threw away a shoe whose match was lost when we moved here from Florida (yes, the lone shoe has been in my closet for almost three years) and a broken picture frame.

It's so fun to be doing the assignment with a group of people. And having such a productive day (and ending the day with a clean house!) is really motivating. Here's hoping the rest of the four weeks is equally productive!

If you want to join in, be sure to head over to Money Saving Mom's 4 Weeks to a More Organized Home.