A belated Mama Monday post.
http://ht.ly/5EDjs
I cried when I read this. I cried because I know where my children have ranked so many times. I cried because it is not where they ought to rank. And I cried at the time that I have wasted, the days I have ignored them, the moments when I have shown them what I really think, and the fact that I do not want it to ever be that way again. I want to live the Gospel. To live it for God and His glory. And to live it for my childrens' sake, that they may know Him and know that what I teach them is not a lie.
With that, I will shut down my computer and show them where they really rank in the Kingdom.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Monday, July 18, 2011
Mama Monday
Disclaimer: I am not an organized, all together, with-it, sort of person. I am also not that kind of mother or wife. Most days I fumble through striving to do better than the day before. I am not an expert and most of what I do at our household is due to trial and error. This is the way it works best for us. Up to this point in our lives we have been a pretty unscheduled and non-routine sort of family. This makes our life hectic. So most of what is posted here on Mama Mondays will be our new way of doing things. A new method that we've implemated in order to bring, well, order to our family. Some of it will be tried and true and we've done it since becoming parents. All of it will be in hopes of glorifying our Lord and Saviour. None of it is perfect. I do not claim that our way is the right way or even that it is the best way, only that it is our way and it works for us. I cannot wait to hear your way.
Cleaning House
Keeping the house clean is one of my biggest challenges since becoming a mommy. Before Adam was born I would clean my entire house in a day and it would stay clean for about a week. Yep, besides the every day stuff like dishes and laundry, I cleaned once a week. That's it. Well, times have changed. I can no longer clean my entire house in just one day. And I can no longer keep it that way for a week.
For the first years of parenting I would do most of my housework during nap or after bedtime. But now that I have 3 kiddos who are quite capable of destroying a house in a matter of minutes and two of which do not nap on most days, I can no longer do all of my cleaning while they are asleep. So I have kind of just gotten lazy about it.
Most days our house is a bomb. I won't lie. It's a complete pigsty. I mean, I wouldn't eat here if it weren't my own family's mess! The biggest reason it's this way is because I never had a plan or a routine for cleaning. I just did what needed to be done the most and for a while I still tried cleaning it all in one day. Ha! It's also because I feel so overwhelmed that I just throw my hands in the air and say, "Ah, forget it!"
So I bought a book called Large Family Logistics. The author has nine children and lives on a farm. She suggests embracing the way of our foremothers and doing one cleaning chore per day. For example: Monday is Kitchen Day; Tuesday is Laundry Day, Wednesday is Office Day, etc. If you've ever read The Little House on the Prairie series you'll know that this is also the way that the Ingalls girls did it. I was quite intrigued by the idea only I quickly realized that it wouldn't work for me because she still has one day for cleaning the entire house. I can never manage to get it all done in one day. So I adopted her idea and twiqued it. I decided that I would do one room a day(some days it's two rooms). That way I still have time for the everyday stuff and I can really clean the room, not just surface clean.
I have only just started doing things this way so it has not been fine-tuned, it's more of a rough draft.
Here is my cleaning routine:
Monday- kitchen & dining room
This is also the day I do baking because it doesn't make since to mess it all up
with baking another day.
Tuesday- bathroom & master bedroom
Wednesday- laundry room & stairway/downstairs rooms
Thursday- kids' bedrooms
Friday- bathroom & living room
Saturday- Outside work
I also do my every day chores as needed: dishes, sweeping, meals, etc.
I try to wash one load of laundry a day.
Friday is also our town day. I will soon be writing up a menu plan to help this go smoothly.
I have just recently really started involving the kids in my housework. They dust, unload/load the dishwasher, vacuum, fold towels, take clothes to the bedrooms, and they do most of the picking up of toys.
Ultimately my goal is to have all of the cleaning done by lunch and then the rest of the day can be used for other things. But when school starts this will be a little harder.
That's the way we do it. How do you do it?
Cleaning House
Keeping the house clean is one of my biggest challenges since becoming a mommy. Before Adam was born I would clean my entire house in a day and it would stay clean for about a week. Yep, besides the every day stuff like dishes and laundry, I cleaned once a week. That's it. Well, times have changed. I can no longer clean my entire house in just one day. And I can no longer keep it that way for a week.
For the first years of parenting I would do most of my housework during nap or after bedtime. But now that I have 3 kiddos who are quite capable of destroying a house in a matter of minutes and two of which do not nap on most days, I can no longer do all of my cleaning while they are asleep. So I have kind of just gotten lazy about it.
Most days our house is a bomb. I won't lie. It's a complete pigsty. I mean, I wouldn't eat here if it weren't my own family's mess! The biggest reason it's this way is because I never had a plan or a routine for cleaning. I just did what needed to be done the most and for a while I still tried cleaning it all in one day. Ha! It's also because I feel so overwhelmed that I just throw my hands in the air and say, "Ah, forget it!"
So I bought a book called Large Family Logistics. The author has nine children and lives on a farm. She suggests embracing the way of our foremothers and doing one cleaning chore per day. For example: Monday is Kitchen Day; Tuesday is Laundry Day, Wednesday is Office Day, etc. If you've ever read The Little House on the Prairie series you'll know that this is also the way that the Ingalls girls did it. I was quite intrigued by the idea only I quickly realized that it wouldn't work for me because she still has one day for cleaning the entire house. I can never manage to get it all done in one day. So I adopted her idea and twiqued it. I decided that I would do one room a day(some days it's two rooms). That way I still have time for the everyday stuff and I can really clean the room, not just surface clean.
I have only just started doing things this way so it has not been fine-tuned, it's more of a rough draft.
Here is my cleaning routine:
Monday- kitchen & dining room
This is also the day I do baking because it doesn't make since to mess it all up
with baking another day.
Tuesday- bathroom & master bedroom
Wednesday- laundry room & stairway/downstairs rooms
Thursday- kids' bedrooms
Friday- bathroom & living room
Saturday- Outside work
I also do my every day chores as needed: dishes, sweeping, meals, etc.
I try to wash one load of laundry a day.
Friday is also our town day. I will soon be writing up a menu plan to help this go smoothly.
I have just recently really started involving the kids in my housework. They dust, unload/load the dishwasher, vacuum, fold towels, take clothes to the bedrooms, and they do most of the picking up of toys.
Ultimately my goal is to have all of the cleaning done by lunch and then the rest of the day can be used for other things. But when school starts this will be a little harder.
That's the way we do it. How do you do it?
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
A Lot
Wow.
Almost a month since I last posted. I have to admit that I have lost some of my motivation to write anything or to take pictures for either of my blogs. This is greatly due to the fact that most of my friends have abandoned me for Facebook which I do not take part in. It would probably be a dangerous place for me. If for no other reason than that I would be online even more than I am now.
Another reason is that there seems to be so much going on these days. Just not enough time to fit everything in.
Lots of exciting things have been going on though.
Last week Jay was on vacation so we loaded up the 5th-wheel and the truck & headed to the Oregon coast. Well, we got as far as CDA, spent the entire day at the transmission shop, were out $115 dollars, and headed home with the problem unresolved. So we camped locally for a couple of days and then pretty much just lazed about the rest of the week. Bummer. If I knew we were going to stay home for vacation I would have preferred to get some major projects done but the kiddos had their hearts set on camping. We just couldn't let them down.
Tonight Adam is at Grami & Grampa's house with Camden. And I have two little guests. Their names are Jude & Gwyneth. They are currently giggling their hearts out with Rowan & Avril while scarfing a late dinner of Papa Murphey's.
My daughter has gone through the entire day peeing on the potty. She pooed in her diaper and she wet it at nap but other than that she has not gone in her diaper today at all. The really exciting part is that this is the first day I have even tried potty training her. YAY! Tomorrow we try no diaper. I am a bit nervous.
Jay is participating in leading worship every evening this week at teen camp. He is enjoying it but we miss him.
Have you all heard of Erin Cobb(http://erincobb.com/ThePigBear/)? She's an amazing photographer in Alabama and I love looking at her pictures and reading her family blog. I have been reading it for about three years now and when I first started she did a series of posts called Mama Mondays. It was just a post each Monday about how she did a certain motherly duty. Anything from lunches to getting the kids to help with chores. I loved it. She also had friends buddy post about how they did the same thing. Each week was different and I gleaned a lot of ideas from it.
Well, I am going to start my own Mama Mondays. Each week I will pick a certain topic about mothering or household duties that we all have to do and tell you how we do it around my home. If you would like to participate you can tell how you do it in the comments section or post on your own blog and I will put a link to yours at the end of my post. If there is a particular topic you would like to cover let me know. I love sharing this kind of stuff because it really helps me to fine-tune the way I run my household. I am not an organized wife/mother but I am striving to improve. I have things that I have been changing lately that work quite well and others that are in desperate need of improvement. I think this a good way for "iron to sharpen iron". Check out Erin's blog to see what I am talking about. I will cover many of the same topics that she did but have a few new ones of my own.
I am also excited to say that we should be starting on the school room next week or shortly thereafter. Considering we have about eight weeks until school starts, I am very hopeful that it will be finished by then. It is going to be big in the way of keeping things organized around here. No more books and boxes piled in our bedroom!
Speaking of school, I just ordered our new curriculum yesterday. I'll post about it when it arrives. I am very excited. I love getting new books and such.
The next two weeks I have the priveledge of teaching the Toddler Class at church. This week it's about ants and what the Bible has to say about them. I am most excited about this. Next week, stick bugs and walking with God.
I am very excited about getting back into blogging. I hope you all join me!
Almost a month since I last posted. I have to admit that I have lost some of my motivation to write anything or to take pictures for either of my blogs. This is greatly due to the fact that most of my friends have abandoned me for Facebook which I do not take part in. It would probably be a dangerous place for me. If for no other reason than that I would be online even more than I am now.
Another reason is that there seems to be so much going on these days. Just not enough time to fit everything in.
Lots of exciting things have been going on though.
Last week Jay was on vacation so we loaded up the 5th-wheel and the truck & headed to the Oregon coast. Well, we got as far as CDA, spent the entire day at the transmission shop, were out $115 dollars, and headed home with the problem unresolved. So we camped locally for a couple of days and then pretty much just lazed about the rest of the week. Bummer. If I knew we were going to stay home for vacation I would have preferred to get some major projects done but the kiddos had their hearts set on camping. We just couldn't let them down.
Tonight Adam is at Grami & Grampa's house with Camden. And I have two little guests. Their names are Jude & Gwyneth. They are currently giggling their hearts out with Rowan & Avril while scarfing a late dinner of Papa Murphey's.
My daughter has gone through the entire day peeing on the potty. She pooed in her diaper and she wet it at nap but other than that she has not gone in her diaper today at all. The really exciting part is that this is the first day I have even tried potty training her. YAY! Tomorrow we try no diaper. I am a bit nervous.
Jay is participating in leading worship every evening this week at teen camp. He is enjoying it but we miss him.
Have you all heard of Erin Cobb(http://erincobb.com/ThePigBear/)? She's an amazing photographer in Alabama and I love looking at her pictures and reading her family blog. I have been reading it for about three years now and when I first started she did a series of posts called Mama Mondays. It was just a post each Monday about how she did a certain motherly duty. Anything from lunches to getting the kids to help with chores. I loved it. She also had friends buddy post about how they did the same thing. Each week was different and I gleaned a lot of ideas from it.
Well, I am going to start my own Mama Mondays. Each week I will pick a certain topic about mothering or household duties that we all have to do and tell you how we do it around my home. If you would like to participate you can tell how you do it in the comments section or post on your own blog and I will put a link to yours at the end of my post. If there is a particular topic you would like to cover let me know. I love sharing this kind of stuff because it really helps me to fine-tune the way I run my household. I am not an organized wife/mother but I am striving to improve. I have things that I have been changing lately that work quite well and others that are in desperate need of improvement. I think this a good way for "iron to sharpen iron". Check out Erin's blog to see what I am talking about. I will cover many of the same topics that she did but have a few new ones of my own.
I am also excited to say that we should be starting on the school room next week or shortly thereafter. Considering we have about eight weeks until school starts, I am very hopeful that it will be finished by then. It is going to be big in the way of keeping things organized around here. No more books and boxes piled in our bedroom!
Speaking of school, I just ordered our new curriculum yesterday. I'll post about it when it arrives. I am very excited. I love getting new books and such.
The next two weeks I have the priveledge of teaching the Toddler Class at church. This week it's about ants and what the Bible has to say about them. I am most excited about this. Next week, stick bugs and walking with God.
I am very excited about getting back into blogging. I hope you all join me!
Friday, June 17, 2011
Remember...
Avril, you are full of life. I see so much of your daddy in you. You are ready to take life by the horns.
Looking back, I sometimes miss the baby you were. But as I have said before, I love the girl you have become and look ahead to the woman you will be someday. You are the answer to many prayers.
You are my daughter. The one I longed for. The one I dreamed about.
I hope you always know what a blessing you are to me.
Happy Birthday Miss Moo.
Mommy loves you.
My Girl
I've got sunshine on a cloudy day.
When it's cold outside I've got the month of May.
I guess you'd say
What can make me feel this way?
My girl
When it's cold outside I've got the month of May.
I guess you'd say
What can make me feel this way?
My girl
Talkin' 'bout my girl.
I've got so much honey the bees envy me.
I've got a sweeter song than the birds in the trees.
I guess you'd say
What can make me feel this way?
My girl
I've got so much honey the bees envy me.
I've got a sweeter song than the birds in the trees.
I guess you'd say
What can make me feel this way?
My girl
Talkin' 'bout my girl.
I don't need no money, fortune, or fame.
I've got all the riches baby one mom can claim.
I guess you'd say
What can make me feel this way?
My girl
I don't need no money, fortune, or fame.
I've got all the riches baby one mom can claim.
I guess you'd say
What can make me feel this way?
My girl
Talkin' 'bout my girl.
She's two.
Is it possible?
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Ten on Tuesday
1) I once again am able to count the children in my house on only one hand. It is refreshing. But also kinda boring.
2) As long as I train my kiddos properly now, I must say that having teenagers is going to be awesome! They are capable of so much! ;)
3) On that note, my oldest completed kindergarten almost two weeks ago. Waaaaaaaaaaaaa! He is just getting so big. All three of them are growing too fast. *sniffle*
4) There is a lot of work to be done around here now that it is "summer". A lot of outside stuff. And a lot of inside stuff. I am so enjoying/looking forward to enjoying the long, warm, sunny days of summer. I really do hope they show up sometime...then maybe some of this stuff will get done.
5) I have quite a few pictures for my photo-a-day from the month of May. Trouble is, I can't remember all of the exact dates for them. However, I do plan on getting them up on the blog this week. Then maybe I really will keep better track for the second half of the year.
6) Is anyone else spooked out that we are already half way back to the Christmas season? I can't believe how much faster each year seems to go. I always start getting on a Christmas kick around August. Maybe I'll actually do something about it this year.
7) I am loving Bible study on Tuesday mornings. I think that I really have been needing something like this for a while. I think it will help keep me accountable to praying and being in the Word. It hits the spot.
8) I have a dentist appointment in the morning. Fillings. Blah. I am sure I'll feel better in the long run but it always seems like such a waste of time. I sit there thinking about all the other stuff I could have been doing instead. Like eating. And rotting my teeth out some more. =}
9) It's time for me to plan a birthday party for Avril. I really want to do a Mad Hatter Tea Party but I think I should wait until next year when she will enjoy it more. I guess this year will probably be pretty generic. I always try to do a fun cake for the kids' birthdays but I just don't have any good ideas for her this year. Any one else seen something cute and girly? I was considering A Wizard of Oz type theme that I saw online but I just don't know. Maybe she'll get a sheet cake.
10) Now that my niece and nephews have gone home, it's potty-training week. I am hoping that girls really are easier than boys. Judging by the way she reacted to sitting on the potty the other night, I don't think I am going to be so lucky. The boys were both trained shortly after their 3rd birthday. I was really rooting for Avril to be trained long before she turns three. But we shall see. I am considering the cold turkey method. Where you just stop putting diapers on them and let the --um--chips--fall where they may.(is that even the right saying?) But that's all I'm doing so far, just considering.
I do that a lot. And I say maybe a lot too. It's the authentic procrastinators way.
2) As long as I train my kiddos properly now, I must say that having teenagers is going to be awesome! They are capable of so much! ;)
3) On that note, my oldest completed kindergarten almost two weeks ago. Waaaaaaaaaaaaa! He is just getting so big. All three of them are growing too fast. *sniffle*
4) There is a lot of work to be done around here now that it is "summer". A lot of outside stuff. And a lot of inside stuff. I am so enjoying/looking forward to enjoying the long, warm, sunny days of summer. I really do hope they show up sometime...then maybe some of this stuff will get done.
5) I have quite a few pictures for my photo-a-day from the month of May. Trouble is, I can't remember all of the exact dates for them. However, I do plan on getting them up on the blog this week. Then maybe I really will keep better track for the second half of the year.
6) Is anyone else spooked out that we are already half way back to the Christmas season? I can't believe how much faster each year seems to go. I always start getting on a Christmas kick around August. Maybe I'll actually do something about it this year.
7) I am loving Bible study on Tuesday mornings. I think that I really have been needing something like this for a while. I think it will help keep me accountable to praying and being in the Word. It hits the spot.
8) I have a dentist appointment in the morning. Fillings. Blah. I am sure I'll feel better in the long run but it always seems like such a waste of time. I sit there thinking about all the other stuff I could have been doing instead. Like eating. And rotting my teeth out some more. =}
9) It's time for me to plan a birthday party for Avril. I really want to do a Mad Hatter Tea Party but I think I should wait until next year when she will enjoy it more. I guess this year will probably be pretty generic. I always try to do a fun cake for the kids' birthdays but I just don't have any good ideas for her this year. Any one else seen something cute and girly? I was considering A Wizard of Oz type theme that I saw online but I just don't know. Maybe she'll get a sheet cake.
10) Now that my niece and nephews have gone home, it's potty-training week. I am hoping that girls really are easier than boys. Judging by the way she reacted to sitting on the potty the other night, I don't think I am going to be so lucky. The boys were both trained shortly after their 3rd birthday. I was really rooting for Avril to be trained long before she turns three. But we shall see. I am considering the cold turkey method. Where you just stop putting diapers on them and let the --um--chips--fall where they may.(is that even the right saying?) But that's all I'm doing so far, just considering.
I do that a lot. And I say maybe a lot too. It's the authentic procrastinators way.
Friday, April 29, 2011
Lonely
I think Blogland is a little dreary these days. Seems most of us are slacking in the blog department. If it's for the same reason I am, it's probably a good thing. Husband. Kids. Meals. Housework. Bible reading. Projects. Company. And other things of that sort.
I made a commitment a few weeks back to stay off of the computer more. I even computer "fasted" for a whole week. While my sister was in Uganda, no less. Not an easy task. But I did it and you know what? It has been easier for me to stay off of it since then. A quick look at blogs here and there. Check my email. Search the web briefly for something. And that's about it. Of course today has been an exception. I was Ebaying, okay! And the weather is starting to get me down. It is almost May, right? Time for Sunshine!
Anyway, I have decided that on most days I will not get online until nap time or bed time and I am trying to stay off while Jay is here with me. Now, if he so chooses to spend his evenings outside or working on his various projects, then the computer and time on it is free game, Baby! =) But it really is the least I can do to shut it off and pay attention when he is actually in here with me. He is my husband afterall.
Today is one of those rare occasions that all three of my lovely children are napping. Poor Adam was up until approximately 12:45 am and true to form, he woke up around 7 am. So he is napping with the others and I have decided that I have some pictures that need tending to. I should be posting a bundle of them on the other blog today, if you're interested. Hoping to catch up through April and start fresh for May. Then I am going to try my hardest to stay on top of it so I can have a book or two made at the end of the year.
Speaking of blog books...
How do you all do it? With my photo-a-day I was thinking from January 1-December 31 for each book. But would it be better to go from Christmas to Christmas each year so that I can have them made up as a gift for my family each Christmas instead of waiting until after the new year? You know, start the 1st of December and go through November of the following year. That sort of thing.
And for this blog, should I do all of the text posts as well or just the ones with pictures? Should I divide them and do one of each child per year and then different ones of the whole family or just a combined family book? What size would you all recommend? Let me know what you think. I need advice. I have a pretty good idea that I'll do a family one and one of each child to give on their birthdays but I am open to any new ideas you might have, so comment away, please.
I made a commitment a few weeks back to stay off of the computer more. I even computer "fasted" for a whole week. While my sister was in Uganda, no less. Not an easy task. But I did it and you know what? It has been easier for me to stay off of it since then. A quick look at blogs here and there. Check my email. Search the web briefly for something. And that's about it. Of course today has been an exception. I was Ebaying, okay! And the weather is starting to get me down. It is almost May, right? Time for Sunshine!
Anyway, I have decided that on most days I will not get online until nap time or bed time and I am trying to stay off while Jay is here with me. Now, if he so chooses to spend his evenings outside or working on his various projects, then the computer and time on it is free game, Baby! =) But it really is the least I can do to shut it off and pay attention when he is actually in here with me. He is my husband afterall.
Today is one of those rare occasions that all three of my lovely children are napping. Poor Adam was up until approximately 12:45 am and true to form, he woke up around 7 am. So he is napping with the others and I have decided that I have some pictures that need tending to. I should be posting a bundle of them on the other blog today, if you're interested. Hoping to catch up through April and start fresh for May. Then I am going to try my hardest to stay on top of it so I can have a book or two made at the end of the year.
Speaking of blog books...
How do you all do it? With my photo-a-day I was thinking from January 1-December 31 for each book. But would it be better to go from Christmas to Christmas each year so that I can have them made up as a gift for my family each Christmas instead of waiting until after the new year? You know, start the 1st of December and go through November of the following year. That sort of thing.
And for this blog, should I do all of the text posts as well or just the ones with pictures? Should I divide them and do one of each child per year and then different ones of the whole family or just a combined family book? What size would you all recommend? Let me know what you think. I need advice. I have a pretty good idea that I'll do a family one and one of each child to give on their birthdays but I am open to any new ideas you might have, so comment away, please.
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