Thursday, September 19, 2013

Goodbye Bandwagon

I've been derailed from my cleaning routines lately and it shows.  Horribly!  What happened?  I'm not entirely sure.  Rough nights with the baby, busy days with the kids, some canning projects.  I get tired and busy and cleaning is the first thing to fall off my radar.

But last night I caught back up on the dishes and cleared off my kitchen counters somewhat.  Maybe the bandwagon is getting ready to come back around again.  It needs to!  My baby is creeping around on the floor now and I need to get it cleaned up.  I need to declutter the places the stuff on the floor is supposed to go.  I need to teach my older kids to keep the floor clean.

I've started the new school year with my 2 and 4-year-olds.  My son isn't very into it yet, so I don't push much.  I think the routine and structure will be good for us all and I think he'll grow into it and start engaging in more of it as we go along.

So, my goals?
Try to start digging myself out of the cleaning hole I've fallen into yet again.
Keep up on my dishes

Friday, July 5, 2013

The Difference A Year Makes

We celebrate the 4th of July with my family every year.  We always have a wonderful time, but last year was very bittersweet for me.  I told my mom that I was pregnant but that I was expecting to miscarry. 

I'd gotten a couple positives on home pregnancy tests the week before, but had started lightly spotting the evening of the first one.  I'd never had any spotting with either of my other pregnancies and as the spotting continues I braced myself for the worst.  By the 4th of July I wasn't sure what to think; the spotting was still coming and going but I knew I hadn't miscarried yet.  We stopped at the store on the way to my mom's house and I bought another package of pregnancy tests so I could see if they could give me any hope or closure.  At my mom's house I got a clear, dark positive; I also had my heaviest spotting/bleeding up to that point.  I was stuck on a rollercoaster until I got a phone call from my doctor the next week: my HCG levels were rising and my bleeding finally stopped.

This year I celebrated the 4th of July with my three-month-old baby girl.  God is so good!  My oldest loved the fireworks this year; my little boy was so tired he didn't even care.  I'm looking forward to the years to come with these blessings!

Sunday, June 23, 2013

The State of My Home #6

Camp is over and I'm still recovering.  My home reflects my fatigue and desire to just sit and rest and take a break for a few days, and it's not good.  I'm caught up on washing and folding laundry, but there are piles of it everywhere.  While I just finished tonight's dishes, clutter is creeping back onto my kitchen countertops and piano.  This week I'll need to focus on getting back into a more normal routine and start making steps forward again.

I do have a big project to tackle this week.  I'm going to be making a dress for my niece for her birthday.  The party is on Saturday, so there's not much time to lose.

Goals
  • Keep up with the dishes
  • Get the laundry put away
  • Finish my niece's dress

Sunday, June 2, 2013

The State of My Home #5

How is my home this week?  Wet.  We've got water in the basement, but not from the storms that dropped over 4 inches of rain on us this week.  No, one of the water pipes leading to the kitchen sink decided it wanted to be a sprinkler.  Too bad it took us a couple days to figure out the water wasn't from the rain...  The leak is repaired, the carpet is pulled back to dry, and maybe we won't have too replace too much of the wall and ceiling.

The past couple of days certainly derailed my routine and focus from cleaning, at least for the part of the time I've been home.  I made three trips to camp this week, which was crazy.  I did manage to get two days of school done with my oldest child which made her very happy.

So the goals?
Previous Goals
  • Keep up with the dishes
  • Keep up with the laundry
  • De-clutter the kitchen counters
  • Get the kids' clothing stored properly
I'm pretty much caught up with folding and putting away, but there may be a load in the dryer... maybe, I don't honestly know.  I'm probably a couple loads at least behind on washing.

Dishes are in good shape.  I have a couple dishes to wash from dinner, but I have to finish nursing the baby before I can finish them.

Most of the clothes are stored, but not all, and I didn't touch the cabinets.

Goals
  • Keep up with the dishes
  • Keep up with the laundry
  • De-clutter the kitchen counters
  • Get the kids' clothing stored properly
Since I'll be trying to get ready for camp which is 8 days away, I'm going to just focus on these same four items.

Sunday, May 26, 2013

The State of My Home #4

Previous Goals
  • Keep up with the dishes
  • Keep up with the laundry
  • Keep the top of the piano clear
  • Clean the floor around the piano
  • De-clutter the kitchen counters
  • Get the kids' clothing stored properly
This has been a pretty rough week.  We've had many days with outings that have broken up our normal routine and it has really impacted my cleaning routine.  My husband and I celebrated our anniversary this week, my oldest had her monthly science and music classes and we went to clean the kitchen of the camp I'll be cooking for in a couple of weeks. 

I'm still in good shape on dishes, thanks to some help from my husband.  The top of the piano is in great shape, so I think I'm going to start adopting a "no knickknacks" rule throughout the house.  I did clean around the piano and while a few things have migrated back to that area, it's still much better than it was.

Can we just pretend the rest of the goals didn't exist?  No?  Well, I'm probably three loads behind on folding laundry and I've got another load folded but not put away.  I didn't touch the kitchen counters at all.  My husband got some of the clothing stored, but we still have more to do.

I know the next four weeks will be rough as well, so wish me luck.

Goals
  • Keep up with the dishes
  • Keep up with the laundry
  • De-clutter the kitchen counters
  • Get the kids' clothing stored properly
We're having a new refrigerator delivered Tuesday, so that will provide some motivation to get the kitchen and living room to a presentable state.  But, I'll be making at least three more trips to camp in the next week and spending time making shopping lists and adjusting the menus for the number of people I'll be feeding this year.  I'm getting worn out just thinking about it...

Monday, May 20, 2013

School's IN For Summer

My oldest daughter and I finished Hands On Homeschooling's 3-year-old curriculum last week.  We crashed and burned last year with the 2-year-old curriculum because I expected too much from a not-very-verbal newly 2-year-old and I was skipping the activities I thought would be too much trouble.  But it's the hands-on activities that my daughter loves:  the paint, cooking, etc.  So, I committed to doing as many of the hands-on activities as possible this year and we had a great year.  I do best with everything laid out for me and my daughter and I both thrive with the bit of routine it brings to our lives.  I'm so glad I gave the curriculum another chance.

She likes it so much that she wouldn't take me up on my suggestion to take a break from "school" for a week or two.  So, we're jumping right into our summer program.

I didn't want to buy anything for the summer and knew I had plenty of resources I wasn't using much, so I decided to put together my own plan for the summer.  I used the weekly grid from the Hands On Homeschooling, selected a weekly Bible story and a book selection from Before Five in a Row.  We're using some of the discussion topics from B4FIAR along with some coordinating printable materials from Homeschool Creations and Homeschool Share.  I also added in some of the activity suggestions provided for the preschool package by My Father's World.  Finally, my husband expressed a desire for our daughter to learn the ten commandments this summer, so we're doing that in place of memory verses.  I'm pretty confident that my daughter is going to really enjoy the activities and we'll have a great summer.

Sunday, May 19, 2013

The State of My Home #3

Previous Goals
  • Keep up with the dishes
  • Get caught up on the laundry and make sure it gets put away
  • Get the top of the top of the piano cleared off so my middle child can stop climbing up the piano to investigate what's up there
  • Find the parts I lost from the baby's extra car seat, get it put back together and get it installed in my husband's car. 
It's been a good week!  I need to fold and put away the laundry I've washed today, but other than that I've kept up with the goals this week.  I cleared everything except a lamp off the piano.  I used to have some decorative items on it, but I think it's too easy for me to overlook clutter when I have to distinguish it from things that are supposed to be there.  This way, if there's anything there I know it's out of place.  If it works on the piano the next couple of weeks, I'll try to adopt a clear surfaces rule throughout my home.

I need to de-clutter in my kitchen, but I'm really encouraged by how much better it's been the last few weeks.  My living room is a disaster, compounded by purchasing used clothes for the kids that need to be sorted and put away until they're needed.

Goals
  • Keep up with the dishes
  • Keep up with the laundry
  • Keep the top of the piano clear
  • Clean the floor around the piano
  • De-clutter the kitchen counters
  • Get the kids' clothing stored properly