4 weeks to a more organized home

So I have slacked on the daily challenges but have gotten ALOT done in my house the past week! Last weekend I went throught the kids rooms and cleaned and organized, getting rid of so much stuff! My fan was cleaned, bathroom scrubbed, couch cushions vacummed and shampooed and all carpet shampooed. WooHoo! And today I worked on the medicine/spice cupboard:

Tonight is cousin night at our house and I am super excited! Itll be nice to have everything clean for company.

And here is Kiera rockn the 50's look today to celebrate 50 days of kindergarten

 

She wasnt to excited about participating but I think she'll be glad she did.

 

And heres my buddy that I get to hang out with all day weds and Fri, just the two of us.

 

 He is sporting his new "camera" smile. He is such a seet heart, giving me lots of sweet hugs today. I am really trying to focus on this time with him and cherish it! Love this boy!

4 Weeks to a More Organized Home: Day 3

Todays challenge was the bedroom; making the bed and cleaning, and the freezer. My room was totaly wiped out today and it worked great that I was able to get an early start on it since it took a litte time. Our room is so often the catch all that its always messy. Not the retreat/reaxing feel we're going for ;)

Our bedroom before:

After:

 

 

 



My freezer wasnt too bad, I had recently cleaned it out, so i just straightned it up a little. All in all I got alot done today but felt like there was still so much more as I put the kids to bed tonight. Oh well. I had lots of fun with my boy today when sisters were at school. I definatey dont wanna be so busy that I miss out. ;)

 

 

Th house feels good tonight and I hope that I've been a blessing my family by making our home clean, comfortable, and inviting,



4 Weeks to a More Organized Home Day 2

Todays challenge was cleaning your kitchen and cleaning out the fridge, two things I definatley needed to do :)

I started on the kitchen as soon as dinner was finished. It was perfect timing since it was extra messy from dinner

Kitchen Before:

Kitchen After:

 

 

Ah! Much better!

 

My fridge really needed cleaned out and wiped down:

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

Looking forward to tomorrows challenge since I'm off and should be able to get it finished earlier in the day ;)

 



4 Weeks to a More Organized Home Challenge

I'm excited for the Money Saving Mom's  4 weeks to a more organized home series. My home definately needs it! Todays challenge was to take 15 mins to straighten up your living room and clean out your purse.

I worked today and by the time I got home, my house was pretty wiped out! The girls helped me clean the kitchen after dinner and I did a quick pick up of living room afterwards

Before:   (Yikes!)

 

After:

 



 

 



 

After the kids were in bed, I tackled my purse

 

 

 

I cleaned a bunch of junk out and switched back to my larger wallet. That way I dont have to carry a seperate envelope for coupons ;) Looking forward to tomorrows challenge!!



Big Moments

     We had a packed day yesterday, and some big moments for our girls. Natalie had a soccer game at 10 and one at 1 and Kiera had a birthday party at 2. Derek worked and was only able to make the 10 o'clock game, so I needed help from my parents with getting Kiera to her party since the game wouldn't be over. Kiera was invited to the party for a girl in her class. She really wanted to go and tried to be good all week. I didnt want to tell her no because so much of our time has been devoted to soccer and I wanted her to know she important too. I planned on having my parents take her but when it came time, she really wanted me too.She threw a huge fit right before the second game started because she didnt want to stop playing at the play ground. After a time out in the car and sitting quietly by mom, I decided to take her to the party. She needed that one on one time with me and was excited to go.
     Shortly after I left, Natalie scored her first goal of the season, her first goal ever. I was sorry that Derek and I both missed it but so happy and so proud of her. She has come so far this season and has really enjoyed playing. Her coach was also very proud of her and said so at their pizza party. After the pizza party, the whole team stayed the night at the coachs daughters house. It was Natalie's first "slumber party" Her first over night stay with anyone who wasnt a cousin or a grandparent and she had a great time!

Kiera had a great time at the party. I think it was good for her to do her own thing. Kiera and Jackson stayed the night with my parents so Derek and I were able to go out to dinner and a movie and do a little Christmas shopping. Besides Derek not feeling 100%, we had a great time :)

Am I doing enough?

Am I doing enough to let my kids know how much I love them? To show them how much they mean to me? Am I doing enough to show my husband that he is important to me? That I value him? Am I snapping at him too much? I struggle with feeling complete in these areas. I struggle to work, keep a clean house, have fun as a family, connect with my husband. My middle daughter has been acting out alot. Do I treat her differently because she is the "middle child"? Or does she just need more one on one time then her big sis? Does she feel important and loved by me?

There are so many chances to doubt that I am doing enough. I know that I am not enough. I need Jesus. I need His strength and patience. I cannot do it alone. I am praying for help showing my family how much they mean to me. By my words and my actions. I have really been working hard at being gentle and patient. Correcting my kids with a quiet voice. I'm tired of yelling, it doesn't work. I am struggling to teach my kids kindness and gentleness by example.

I missed the girls haloween party at school. I think they were disapointed. I struggled with going and ended up not making arrangements for Jackson. I should of planned ahead and tried harder. This weekend will be busy, full of soccer activities. I plan on taking Fri to hang out with Jackson and clean my house. Saturday will be busy but I'm hoping to squeeze in a date night with my hubby. We do not date nearly enough, and I am looking forward to it. Natalie is staying the night with her soccer team saturday night. Shes super excited, I feel like I'll be missing out on time with her. But I dont want her to miss opportunities for having fun being a kid. I'll try to spend some one on one time with her. Sunday.

I feel guilty for having to work. I have since I became a mom. It could be more than it is, I am so blessed to be able to work part time. We are finally getting good footing finacialy and I know  we wouldnt be able to without my income. I still pray about this, I know God has blessed me greatly with an amazing job with excellent pay. I struggle feeling like I could be a better mom, have a better home, if I was home full time. I am trying to focus on being grateful in all circumstances. The better I can manage my time, the more I can be present with my family, and bless them with a clean home, good food and encouraging words. 

I am praying for guidance in managing my time, so that I can feel like I am closer to doing enough for my family.....

Family Time

We had such a great weekend! Derek is taking a much needed break from work and was off all last week. It was great having 3 extra days off with him. We got a ton of stuff done around the house! On Saturday, we all went to Crater Lake and, overall had a great time.

We hiked to this beautiful waterful, the kids loved it!

Besides a rather embarrasing fit from Kiera, it was an awewome day!!

Derek will be back to work tomorrow, so the rush routine will be back also ;)
And Jacksons been rocking the potty training this week! He's been telling us when he needs to go and going. ;)

First Day of School

 

Yesterday was Natalie's first day of 2nd Grade and Kiera's first day of Kindergarten. The knidergartners have phase in days this week so I was so glad Kiera got to have hers on the first day with Natalie.

 

 

 

They were so excited!

 

 

Kiera is home now for the rest of the week, then she'll start everyday. Jackson wont know what to think! It'll be strange having just him but I'm looking forward to some one on one time with my boy :)

 

 

Morning Routines

Last week, we had a hectic, crazy morning. I was not finished getting ready before my kids had to be up and as a result I was running very late! I had to be to work and take my kids to daycare. We were rushing around, couldn't find shoes, couldn't find my stuff. I was yelling at my kids to get this, and do that. It was so stressful that on the way to town, I felt defeated. I felt like a failure. I hate starting my mornings that way knowing it'll be a long day before I see my kids again.

  There are a couple areas that I need to improve. The first would be my own morning routine. My dream morning is to get up around 530, exercise for at least 15 mins, drink a cup of coffee while reading my bible, get my shower and be completely ready- dressed, hair and make up done- before getting the kids up so that my focus can them be on them. This, however, rarely happens. I am usually able to get a couple things done but not everything. I either work out or read my bible but struggle with doing both. Probably because I do not get right out of bed at 530. I did the Proverbs 31 study through goodmorninggirls.org this summer and will be starting a study on Colasions in a couple weeks. I hope to have things down more consistently by then. Working out is something I struggle with because I don't enjoy it, but I know its important. I prefer getting it done in the morning before my shower since I don't like being sweaty ;) I've played with the idea of working out and showering at night to give myself more time in the morning but then theres my hair and I really enjoy my morning shower. This routine is something I'll continue to tweak until I can find something that works.

The other are is having my kids prepared. School starts next week and I need to be more organized in getting them ready. The morning after our hectic morning, my day off, the girls and I sat down and talked about how to make our mornings more smooth. It was nice to solve a problem together. We decided to have shoes and clothes picked out the night before and ready to go. I usually have their clothes laid out but we seem to constantly be missing a shoe! We talked about having backpacks ready also. I think we came up with some great ideas! Now, we just have to put them into practice.

Hopefully, with lots of prayer, our mornings will see an improvement in September!

Back to schoolcountdown

This morning, I practiced a couple new hairstyles for the girls. I did this knot braid head band on Kiera and it was really easy! Love it!

It is such a different look! Very pretty, we'll definately be trying this one again.

Kiera will be starting Kindergarten next week. We have open house tonight and will be finding out who her teacher is and what day she'll go next week for the phase in.

On Natalie, I did two simple twist back ponies:

This worked nicely for her since she wears her bike helmet most of the day ;)

 

The girls are super excited for school to start. Jackson will probably be a little lost at first.

Sweet Sunday

Sundays are the one day off a week we have together as a family. To save on day care costs, and because of my husbands position, we have gone the past several years with only Sundays off as a family. This is something that is temporary and I am looking forward to the day when we can have the enttire weekend together. We went to church this morning. I am so glad we did! It quinched my thirst for the Lord and satisfied me. I have been struggling at work lately and its so awesome that we can give our concerns to God and allow our focus to be on Him and our family. Sunday mornings are sometimes a struggle as it is so tempting to sleep in and be lazy as a family, but so worth it to go to church. We have attended our church off and on for a year and I am trying to make attending a habit. I am hoping we will make friends. After church we came home for lunch and naps them met Telena and the kids for a bike ride. It was lots of fun! It is very smokey today from the fires. The trip up the bike path was great, coming back....not so much. We had some bad attitudes and my patients were tested but it was so worth it. Natalie learned a couple months ago to ride with out training wheels and she LOVES it. She is now able to get started on her own and wants to take two bike rides a day :) The past two nights her and I have gone around the neighborhood and its been awesome. Its great to have some one on one time together, something I a trying to be intentional about with all my kids (and hubby) Today was a very blessed day!

Gazelle Intensity

We recently sold our car. We were able to pay our loan off, a credit card off and put some money towards a medical bill. I read Dave Ramsey's Total Money Make Over for the second time recently. I am sooo excited to dump our debt! We were going good, until spring when our explorer had problems....and our emergency fund wasnt complete(baby step 1)....and we had to put some on a credit cared, ugh! Then, with school out for summer, our daycare expenses have been much higher. I am hoping the jump start of selling our car will spur us on! I have been working on our budget and am very encouarged by how things are looking! My long term goal is to be debt free (except our home) so that I can quit my part time job and fully devote myself to our home. With Gods guidance, I feel this is something we CAN achieve!

Being intentional with our time

Something I've been convicted of lately is being in the moment with my kids. On my days off, my to-do list gets so long so fast. I have so much in my home I want to accomplish that time can slip by so quickly as I go about my day. I want to really work on being intentional with my time and making small moments with my kids a priority.  Today we had to be to town for an early appointment. Instead of running errands  afterwards, (stressful!) we went to the park. We had alot of fun! It was nice to be "unplugged" and just focus on my kids. The tasks in my home are important as well, I just want to be sure time with my kids is above my home on my priority list. Time goes too fast for it not to be!