One Step At A Time

My last post gained me a couple of comments that I wanted to to talk about.  My friend Nicole seriously recommended that I check out the Flylady website.  The unfortunate thing about this is I already have checked out her website, joined her group on facebook and bigtent, and get e-mails from the website.  The issue is that I have to follow through and actually read and put into practice some of the things that she recommends.  Actually my husband mentioned this site to me when he was talking with someone about getting organized at work.  I also have the Sidetracked Home Executives (S.H.E.) book, which would be great once I actually put it into practice.  The funny part about this book is that it is how my mom trained us to clean house.  As soon as I started reading it, I knew exactly what it was.  It's really funny how the things that I am looking at implementing in my life as an adult are the things that I was used to as a kid.

The other comment that I got was about taking it easy on myself.  I understand the thought behind the comment and I so appreciate the reminder.  I just so have to get myself in a place where I am comfortable with how my house looks.  That means that I want things to be put away and have things look neat and orderly, but I don't need to have things immaculate.  I have 3 kids that are actually still all 2 for another week.  I know not to expect too much from myself, but I still need to have some expectations from me and the kids and even my husband (who is really good, sometimes better than I am at keeping things neat).

I have one week completed for my meal plan.  I have a bunch of recipes to plug into other days so that I get the rest of the month complete.  I still need to get a calendar to hang up on te fridge that I can reuse and erase if things change.

I need to get a little bit better of a handle on my laundry.  I know that it will never be fully completed, but I just want to look at my hamper and feel like I am in control not my laundry.

What I really need to do is just start.  It does not need to be perfect right away.  I need to start with one room and get that completed and maintain it and then I can move on to other rooms and maintain them.  Once I have things clean and orgainzied, I just need to maintain and that is the hardest part for me (you would think it would be the easiest).  I know once I get to the maintainence stage, I am golden as long as I actually maintain.

Here's to menu planning and organizing my house so that I can actually enjoy my house and not be stressed by it.

Amy

Gardening

This past week was April vacation here in Massachusetts.  On Monday my mom brought over some plants from her garden to transplant into ours.  My mom, my step-father, my husband, and I spent the day digging and planting and we still had more to do.  We did a little more during the week, but then the weekend came and we pretty much spent all day Saturday and Sunday digging, planting and cleaning up 3 of our gardens.  It was a ton of work, but it felt so good to be outside in some absolutely beautiful weather.  We got a lot done, but still have a little more to go.  The butterfly garden is looking really good.  I need to still get another plant for a planter, a garden angel and that may be it for the butterfly garden.  For the gardens in the front of the house, I want to get a boy figurine since I already have a boy and girl together.  Sounds kind of corny, but I'd love to have a figurine for all 3 kids.  I also need to get a clay saucer to fix a simple bird bath that I made and I may want to make another one for the other side.  I also want to get a couple of figurines for the other side of the house.  We still have a lot of work to do on the yard.  We are planning on tilling an area in the back for a veggie garden, which I hope will provide a bunch of veggies for us this summer and hopefully enough to preserve for later.  And, now looking at pictures of the front of the house, I think I still want to do more there too.  We'll see.  Since we are on a pretty tight budget, I am trying to be good at not spending a ton of money.  I love gardening!

Right front side of the house

Close up of the right front side

Left front side of the house

South side of the house butterfly garden!

On an unrelated not, with the weather getting warmer, I have been thinking about the covers for the cloth diapers that the kids wear.  I am thinking that we may want or even need to change to fleece or wool for breathability.  It can be pretty expensive to get enough covers for all 3 kids, so I am thinking of attempting to make my own.  I found a pattern on line for free that I may try.  From what I can see and what I have read, it is simple to make and I have a ton of fleece so I won't need to buy anything new right now.  If it works out and I want to make more later, I can get more then, but for now I have more than enough.

The twins are taking their nap and I really need to start cleaning while they are asleep.  I really hate housework, but unfortunately it needs to get done.  I may need to put a video on for my older son so that I have some time to do things with out him needing my full on attention.  The letter factory is m favorite for this and the best part is he is starting to learn his alphabet.  Awesome!!!!!

Wish me luck getting all that I have to get accomplished completed!
Amy