Spring Cleaning Pics

I organized the changing table in the closet to hold extra blankets on the top shelf and Ali's clothing on the second. The third holds bags of clothes for the kids to grow into. I sorted through the hanging stuff and weeded out things that can be stored until fall/winter. I did leave some heavy coats out because camping in Wyoming involves some icy cold nights in the mountains!

The hanging shoe organizer was $1 at a yard sale. The kids enjoy keeping their shoes in it and they can find shoe options faster now! Jer's clothes are in the tub, diaper supplies are on the shelf under them, and Ali's sock and undie bins are under those.

My friends who have seen our coat closet will agree that this is a vast improvement! Kids' coats, shoes, and backpacks once littered the closet floor and we had all of our winter stuff cluttering up the rack and boots were thrown in on top of shoes. It was bad! Now it holds the shoes we use the most and our summer coats. I also found a way to hang diaper bags and backpacks so they are neater and easier to find.

About twice a year I go through my save pile which is in my bedroom on my dresser in a stackable office tray. Bank statements, important papers and letters, and bill stubs are some of the things I have to sort. Most of it ends up getting tossed, thankfully!

Much better! 3 Piles:

Save

Bank Statements

(to go in my specific folder for these)

Destroy

Before the drawer-paper was put in I had these mats lining the drawer and they would often scrunch up and get all wrinkled under the utensils.

Pretty stick-on paper makes my utensil drawer much neater!



My "Tickler File" which is just a cheap file box folder where I stash various papers on our desk that I can't take care of right away. I sorted through it to see what papers could be tossed or dealt with.

The pockets were labeled with various categories but I put sticky notes with my own labels over them. I have a file for papers to save (cute drawings that Ali made for me), a preschool paper file, wrist injury file, hubby's stuff file, odds and ends, homeschooling papers, etc.

My aunt taught me to do the Tickler File. She uses the bottom drawer of her desk and has regular hanging files. She has a folder for each day of the week and then one for each month. She goes through it every day and "deals with" the papers that are in her folder for that day. It keeps things handy for her for mailing cards, homeschool tests, bills, etc. I have found that my system is better for me because there are many days when I don't have time to go through my file or forget to. So, as long as I go through it and sort things now and then, I stay on top of it and can deal with the papers as I have time and not have them cluttering up the desk.


So, I accomplished 4 of my 6 Goals for the week. I did not get my kitchen shelves re-organized, but that can be done this week. I also need to spend about 5 minutes tidying up my sewing desk. However, I did get a lot of cleaning done that I hadn't originally planned on thanks to some icky poopy ordeals outside with Jer. All the yard toys got washed, the van got completely vacuumed and scrubbed, and thanks to some wetting accidents by the boys, the couch cushion, couch afghan, and pillows got washed as well as all their sheets, blankets, stuffed animals and Justus' crib! I also tidied up the linen closet.


It turns out my in-laws, who aren't usually spontaneous, decided they are coming for a visit so my spring cleaning is getting wrapped up in perfect timing to have company! They'll be here Friday night and will be able to spend 3 days here.
My last big remaining spring cleaning goal is to shampoo our carpets sometime this week.

While it may look like a lot got accomplished this week, I assure you that most of these projects were very easy and were quickly done. Breaking spring cleaning up into one organizing project a day makes it very simple and I really enjoy organizing and find it to be energy-boosting!

Spring Cleaning Pics

Justy sits among the clutter. I unloaded everything from the closet onto our bed.

The newly organized gift center is on my top shelf. I used to have all the bows, ribbons, gift wrap and bags in one large gift bag on the right but there was such a large collection bows were getting smashed so I divided them into different boxes and bags. The red gift bag is full of Christmas bows and one blue shoebox holds wedding ribbons and one holds all the other ribbons. The brown bag is full of gift wrap and tissue paper.

I didn't need to organize my gift stash because my current method works for me. The red cloth box is full of baby gifts, the round hat box is full of gift items and the red and green box is also full of general gift items.

Extra large gift bags are tucked between the wall of the closet and my hanging organizer. I used to use this organizer for Jer's clothes but I decided to use it when we moved to this rental. I only keep two pairs of shoes in it: my winter dress shoes and spring/summer dress shoes. My 3 other pairs of shoes are in the coat closet with our other shoes, bags, and coats. I have found that this hanging organizer makes a perfect "catch-all" for those little annoying odds and ends that you don't know what to do with. For example: the books I need to return to my in-laws that they've loaned me, my fall purse and fancier handbag, mementos from my brother's wedding, small boxes I can use for wrapping gifts in, small gifts that are wrapped or ready to go but need a safe place to hang out until the event, etc.

My side of the closet contains my scrapbooking tub and an apple box full of books on loan which my MN friends and family brought out in December since they know I love to read!

My hubby really doesn't get any shelf space above his clothes, probably since he doesn't seem to need it! The kids' Keepsake Boxes are there and I currently have 3 bridal shower gifts for 3 special friends sitting there ready to go!

My hubby's side of the closet after my cleaning. Our empty, traveling bags are on the left, the flowbee (a vacuum attachment he cuts his own hair with) his snowboot liners, and his baseball glove make up the other contents. Our imitation down comforter, which we love, is in the white garbage bag. We always keep one of our comforters in the closet so that if a baby or child wets on our bed or if we get cold with just one comforter, we can quickly pull it out and use it.

There wasn't a lot to do on our closet but I feel better now that everything is straightened and organized. We had a small suitcase and also a garbage bag full of snow hats and gloves taking up space in there which I condensed into the suitcase and hauled to the shed for summer storage.

More Spring Cleaning Pics to Come!!!

Kitchen Tip Tuesday--Best Dishes!

My tip for the week is:

If you don't have a dishwasher CORELLE is for you!!! I recently snagged some Corelle at Wal-Mart for less than half off! I had been wanting some for a couple of years and was thrilled! Sure enough, after a couple weeks of using them, I have found them to be everything I'd dreamed of and more!

My observations of them:

*They wipe clean easier than other dishes, even without soaking

*Dirty dish pile looks smaller because they are so thin and lightweight

*Can fit about 3x more dishes in my dish drainer, meaning less drying with a towel!

*Take up less than half the space my other dishes took up in the cupboard, making a small kitchen more functional

*More sturdy for young families with small children or clutsy adults

*Easier for the kids to set the table

*I trust the kids with them because the small plates and bowls are easier to handle and they are break-resistant

*I am excited that when we have large crowds over, everyone will have a nice, matching plate

*The bowls all come with snap-on lids to store kid leftovers and small amounts quickly, efficiently, saving me plastic wrap and helping the environment (there's my green plug!)

*They make our table look more polished and neat (this is my opinion of course)

*Because they are so easy to clean I am more likely to do dishes in the snatches of time I have throughout the day and stay on top of the dishes better

*They air-dry much faster than my old dishes, meaning that after I've filled the strainer, they're practically dry so I can put them away quickly and fill the strainer again with pots and silverware

*I'm less likely to use paper plates now that I have Corelle. It seems so fast to wash them that I am excited to use a Corelle plate and don't even worry about buying paper plates anymore! I don't groan when my husband pulls out a plate for a light snack and don't hesitate to use plates when I'm cooking.

I could go on and on but I'll stop now and let you all decide for yourselves!!!

For more Kitchen Tips visit Tammy's Recipes today!

Spring Cleaning

You may remember me saying a couple of weeks ago that I wanted to do some spring cleaning. I didn't end up getting to it that week because of things we had going on, kids getting colds, etc. But last week I was able to tackle these projects I really wanted to get to, and I have a list of things to tackle this week as well. When one has 3 little children, spring cleaning is a long process, bit by bit.

Done

-Baby dresser organized and sorted
-Stacks and piles of Clothing Swap Clothes are now out of the house, yay!
-Cleaned under my bed and organized a few bags of odds and ends left under there from our move in Dec.
-Organized our desk cubby and threw out old papers, sorted what to keep, etc.
-Sorted through all of the kid's clothes yet again
-Organized Alathia's clothing shelf and folded all the clothes. I figured that she's now old enough to keep the piles neat and straight and so I'm going to start folding her clothes again.

Goals for This Week

-Organize Homechooling/Craft Shelf
-Organize my pantry
-Go through my tickler file and sort papers
-Clean out my closet
-Rotate toys again (How do we keep ending up with tons of toys out even though I try to keep to my Pioneer Living goal of 5 per kid?)
-Vacuum baseboards around every room in the house
-Clean out and organize my fridge and freezer

Keeping a Clean and Tidy Home--Interview with Shiloh

Ever have a friend who's home is so clean that it baffles you? I do! I decided to pick the brain of my cleanest friend and find out her secrets. Lately my house has been feeling less clean than I would prefer, so this week is spring cleaning week for me! I hope to de-clutter, organize trouble spots, and spend some time deep cleaning.

Shiloh is the mom to three-year-old twins, Carsen and Kennedy, and she works about 6 hours a week as a tutor for at-risk students in the local Jr. High and High School. She's also the wife of Jesse, who is the youth pastor at our church. I didn't know her when she was pregnant with the twins, but I can vouch for the fact that her house is absolutely spotless any time of the day or night when you drop by unexpectedly, whether or not she has newborn twins, twin toddlers, is in the midst of remodeling, or is living in tight quarters, etc. This is a long post, but I think you'll enjoy EVERY bit of it!!!

Shiloh, at 33 Weeks Pregnant. She's due with a little girl on May 9th.

Do you find cleaning to be enjoyable or something you don't really enjoy but do anyway?

Yes and no! I actually don't really enjoy the process of cleaning,but I enjoy the results so much that it is worth it to me!

What did your bedroom look like growing up?

I hate to admit this, but my bedroom was usually a mess when I was a kid! I hardly made my bed and clothes were everywhere, unless my mom cleaned it. She is a "cleaner" like I am and usually would clean it when she couldn't handle it any longer. :)

Do you think you were born with a knack for neatness or did you learn it in your family growing up?

I think I learned it. My mom cleans even more than I do; if you can imagine that! But I realized when I became an adult how much I appreciated that.

Do opposites attract? How clean is your husband and how do you divide up the household cleaning chores?

He is learning! :) He has never been one to really care about cleaning. However, he knows that I like to keep a clean house, so he does whatever he can to help out. If I have an unusually busy day oram sick or tired, he will gladly do the cleaning if I ask him. Right now, he has taken over the vacuuming and sweeping/mopping since I am pregnant.

What 5 tips do you have for women who find it difficult to maintain a clean and clutter-free home?

1. Try to keep things picked up every day, so that it doesn't get so overwhelming and you wake up to a clean house!





2. Involve your family as much as you can. Let the kids help, especially if they are older and ask your husband to join in too!





3. Have a cleaning schedule that works with your lifestyle, write it down and post it somewhere where you will see it constantly. People are more likely to do things that they have thought through and written down.





4. Tackle what you can and then get to the rest of the chores when you can. Keep it in perspective; a clean house is not what life is all about and this is something I have to remind myself all the time! If my kids want me to do something with them, then I try to do that instead of worrying about how I need to clean my house.





5. If you clean regularly, then if you have an off week or two where you can't seem to get anything done, then it doesn't matter because your house is still pretty clean!

How many minutes/hours a day do you spend cleaning?

I probably spend about 5-6 hours a week? Although, it also depends on how motivated I am that week!

Any cleaning secrets you use to keep your house looking perfect?

The entire family picks up toys, clothes, shoes, etc. every evening.This way things look nice when we get up in the morning and then it never gets too overwhelming. Also, if the kiddos get out several things to play with, if they want to to get out more, I make them clean up one thing before they can get something else out. This cuts down on the clutter and the tripping over everything all the time.

What are your favorite products to use?

For a long time, I used anything that was available and in my price range to clean. Now, for almost everything, I use a plain old vinegar water mixture in a spray bottle. For the toilets, I try to use an"eco-friendly" cleaner.

How have you been teaching your kids to clean up after themselves?

I decided that if I started teaching them when they were young, then hopefully it would become such a habit to them that it would eventually be second nature. So, when they turned two, we decided that before naptime and before bedtime, they would pick up all their toys.When they turned three, we began teaching them how to make their beds. I don't make them do it perfectly though, just enough that their beds look halfway made. ( My son actually sleeps on top of his covers, so that he doesn't have to make it!) If they do these two things without being asked over and over, then we give them a nickel each day. As they get older, we will add more chores. We also try to let them help us with cleaning whenever we can. They like to help unload the dishwasher, wipe down the table and vacuum as well.

What kind of cleaning schedule do you have for yourself (in your head or on paper)?

For a long time, I would clean our two bathrooms, clean all the glass and windows and wipe down our counters and tables every Sunday. On Monday, I would vacuum, sweep and dust two rooms in the house. Then on Thursday, I would vacuum and mop. This, however, got to be way too much to do. So recently, I have changed my schedule. Since I work on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and would like to keep weekends free, I have started cleaning on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Mondays are cleaning the glass and windows and wiping down counters and tables. Wednesdays are dusting and vacuuming. Fridays are bathrooms and sweeping/mopping. I don't worry about cleaning the rest of the days and right now, since I am pregnant, my husband has taken over the vacuuming and sweeping/mopping. For the dusting, each week I pick two rooms in the house and don't worry about the rest, so really I dust each room in the house about once a month. Also, when cleaning the glass and windows, I pick two rooms in the house each week and do a thorough cleaning of them. All the rest of the rooms, I walk through and if something needs cleaned badly enough, I wipe it down, if not, I don't worry about it.

Any other thoughts on keeping a neat and clutter-free home?

I have found a lot of freedom in trying to be content with what I have. This has allowed me to have more of a simpler and clutter-free home. Whenever I feel the need to buy something, I really scrutinize whether I need it or not and usually the answer is no. Also, around Christmas and birthdays, I go through clothes, toys and books and get rid of some things in order to make room for the new things. I either take these things to the thrift store in our town, give them to friends or put them in a closet for a garage sale. I try to do a garage sale once a year with my friends and once the garage sale is over, I don't let the un-bought things come back in the house; I take them immediately to the thrift store.

Was there ever a time in your married life where you found it hard to keep the house clean?

Yes! When I was pregnant with the twins, I was so tired and sick,that my house was a total disaster! I have to confess that neither my husband nor I cleaned for the entire 9 months! One time, there were so many dishes in the sink, that we didn't have hardly anything in the cupboards! We ate off of paper plates and ate out for probably an entire week before we decided to do the dishes!

New Activitiy Tubs and Preserving Memories

Some of you may remember that when Crystal posted about her Quiet Time Activity Tubs for her 4 year old daughter, I copied the idea and made some up for my daughter too. Only, I couldn't squeeze buying plastic tubs into the budget then because of our temporary scarcity so I just put some pretty paper on the front of cardboard boxes.

I was able to score a great deal on tubs at Target this week and excitedly filled up these neat and orderly plastic tubs. They are a little small and don't fit puzzles, and I have to slightly bend coloring books, but they hold most of the odds and ends I have to fill them with and the price was right at $1 a box. I put the puzzle pieces in the box and then have the puzzle board resting on top of the lid of the box they coordinate with. We have a variety of things in them: magnetic paper princess doll and clothes, beads, lacing cards, foam beads and foam crafts, giant dice, fancy markers and notebook, books on tape for kids, flashcards, small toys, etc.

I also snagged 3 bigger-size tubs for keepsake boxes for the kids. I don't want to go overboard saving everything for my kids, but I think it's special that my mom saved a few of our favorite baby outfits/toys/things for our kids to look at. I have been looking for about a year for vintage metal boxes or chests that would work for this, but I came to the conclusion that tubs will keep the dust out, will stack neatly, and will work fine, though they aren't fancy.

Ali's box holds her "macaroni" doll that has Ali embroidered on it's foot (we found this in a grocery store in Utah!) and her favorite lamb "Baby" from her infancy. It holds the curtain skirt I made her that she nearly wore to rags and a couple of her favorite t-shirts from toddlerhood. Also a thumbprint book that Grammy made with her and her favorite songbook containing her favorite song from age one "I Must Tell Jesus All of My Trials."

Justus' box holds some darling overalls he wore all the time, his wooden baby block, first paci, newborn diaper, and newborn shoes. Jeremiah's box (didn't get a pic of his) holds some favorite baby outfits, leather shoes I made for him that he wore constantly, a plaster handprint from when he was 3 weeks old, and his favorite story from age one "Oh Where Oh Where Has my Little Bear Gone?"

As they grow I will add more to the boxes, special papers, projects, their Duckie blankies (if they ever stop sleeping with them) and little odds and ends. I may also save a bag of a few of the special hand-crocheted, hand-made quilts that they have as family heirlooms. I also hope to learn to make videos of their pictures and put these in. I have a baby scrapbook for each of them for the first year of their lives and regular albums to hold pics after age one. I'm thinking that a DVD or CD set to music of their baby/toddler/preschool age pics might be more fun and more easy to do than having to remember to print off photos a few times a year to fill their album with. What do you think? Any tips on how to make these?

Goals for 2009

A lot of my ideas come from Simple Mom's Questions

I'm not going to share what we are already doing (such as family prayer habits, devotions with kids, Friday night date nights at home, etc.), but rather things I want to begin doing in addition to the things we are currently doing. Thus, my goals:



Homemaking Skills

In 2009, I'd like to plant a garden here at our rental home and learn more about gardening well



I plan to keep better tabs on the paper piles by setting up a Tickler File, something my Aunt Suzee does (I'll blog about it when I see how it works!)



Now that we have the extra space, we are recycling now! Our landlord owns the local recycling pick-up business and offers us free pick-ups weekly.



We got a new computer last week (Yay for a computer that doesn't freeze up all the time!) but unfortunately, all of our pictures got mixed up moving them to the new computer so I have to reorganize photos in folders and weed out the ones I can delete. I love photography and I think it's important to capture our precious babies in photos but my goal is to sort and weed out photos right after I upload them instead of doing it every few months and having hundreds to sort through.

Children

I hope to really work with Ali on Self-Control this year.

Keep Ali busy. When she's not in pre-school, provide crafts, activities, and puzzles/games for her to work on to keep her out of trouble. I have a special shelf in our hall closet devoted to playdough, shaving cream, cornmeal tubs, tubs of beans, coloring books, sticker books, and other preschool-age activities and crafts.


I want to begin instilling in both Ali and Jer a strong work ethic and industriousness even though they are small.


We're going to really work on resolving conflict aka "Quit fighting, screaming, pushing, stealing toys 24/7!" I want them to learn how to play nicely together and remember the book Grammy got them, "Hands are not for Hitting."


Teach my children to give, regularly, of their time and resources.


Take the kids to the nursing home a few times this year to hang out with the residents. The elderly LOVE little children and that's a resource I have!

Become a bit more familiar with homeschooling curriculums since it won't be long until those days are upon us...




Spiritual Life

It has been too long since I read through the Bible in a year. I am following the Discipleship plan, along with Bethlehem Baptist Church. I read about 3 chapters a day out of Genesis and one out of Psalms, Matthew, and Acts daily right now. I often read a few of my chapters aloud to the kids at night after tucking them into bed. I'm also thrilled because I have access to the ESV online (because if buy an ESV Study Bible you get a code to access the site) and can listen to the chapters being read aloud while I fold laundry or clean.



My verses for the year are going to be: Proverbs 12:16-20 "The vexation of a fool is known at once, but the prudent ignores an insult. Whoever speaks the truth gives honest evidence, but a false witness utters deceit. There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing. Truthful lips endure forever, but a lying tongue is but for a moment. Deceit is in the heart of those who devise evil, but those who plan peace have joy.



I also want to work specifically on being slow to anger. Those of you who joined me in the Gentle Mothers Support Club last year know I've been working on this for a long time and will continue to do so throughout my lifetime. Interesting how you don't think you are an angry person until you have a two-and-a-half-year-old or two or three kids...



I'd like to possibly do a Prayer Target of the Month thing. I did this in December to pray for my unsaved brother since it is his birth month and having that focus all month really helped me to remember to pray more. Whoever God lays on my heart each month will be my "Prayer Target." I also plan to keep posting "PETS for Kids" on my blog to encourage my blog readers to pray for their children.


Since Aunt Suzee gave me a used mp3 player for Christmas, I hope to download good sermons and listen to them while I do dishes/clean during naptimes or after the kids are in bed for the night


Generosity--times are tough for a lot of people and instead of hoarding things and being stingy in tight times, I want to strive to be generous this year.




Health/Body

Lose the last chunk of baby weight

Do pilates regularly

Go to bed a little bit earlier

Gradually turn over my wardrobe and get some flattering outfits .One of my favorite shirts is about 6 years old, and I bought it used! My one pair of jeans that were 3 years old gave out recently and I'm looking at a lot of my thrift-store buys and thinking frumpy!

Sneak lots of healthy purees into our meals (from The Sneaky Chef cookbook) and continue to fix low-fat, high-fiber meals with plenty of whole grains and veggies and fruits.

Marriage

Seek to encourage my husband in his job and pray for that area of his life.

Take a weekend getaway sometime this year for a date night in a hotel without the kiddoes.

Get godly input on marriage. Whether from books, sermon podcasts, articles, or talking with older folks, seek to always be growing in the area of building a godly marriage.

What seemingly huge or impossible thing do I plan to start praying about this year?

Buying a home

Finances

Since we got our will done (finally) and got life insurance this year (finally) and started saving 6 months worth of living expenses in a money market account we are going to focus on saving for vacations and trips upcoming this year and trying to increase our saving to eventually put a downpayment on a house. We hope to get a Roth IRA going sometime soon for retirement.

Reading

It would be silly for me to post reading goals since that's like saying, "You should breathe this year." Reading is pure pleasure for me and no matter what stage of life I am in I always make time to read! If our budget allows, I hope to get a few books I've been wanting to read for the last year: The 5 Dilemmas of Calvinism, When I Don't Desire God, Do Hard Things, Family-Driven Faith, Shopping for Time, and Praying in Jesus' Name.

Family Trips

We'd like to get to MN in the spring or summer but we'll see how the finances go. We'll probably spend Christmas in MN (but that, too, depends on finances)



Depending on where my brother gets married, I may have to fly to Florida in the early spring. If it's not in Florida, we will still be busy helping with wedding stuff here.



We are hoping to do a vacation in Colorado next August where we will do some camping, site-seeing, and of course the Denver ZOO (my kids can't wait!)



We'd like to do a few little camp-trips this summer on the weekends to places within a few hours from here. King Jo's folks gave us a little trailer to pull behind our van which will be nice for hauling camping gear!

What random thing would I like to try this year?

Join the choir for a church event (like for the Easter service)

Friendships

Seek to encourage and bless my friends, both far and near



Attend 3 of my good friends' weddings this year! Hurray for Heather, Cori, and Jessie!



Prioritize my friendships. Since I know a lot of people, this can be tough but I have to limit my interactions based on the levels of friendship. This means I focus on knowing some people really well and realizing that others will just be acquaintences or neat people I see only at church and that's okay! This means I realize that at different seasons and stages of life I will have different "close" friends. I often like to reach out to new people in town and "plug them in" to some activities or groups where they can meet people, but I have learned I need to then back off and let them take it from there because I can't have 30 "best friends forever." =)

Considering wisely the activities my family is involved in. Exercising the use of the word "NO" when needed but still getting out and enjoying playdates and things the kids enjoy.

Letting go of friendships that are draining. This one is hard because sometimes God calls me to befriend difficult people or uses conflict to grow me. Yet, I think that it is wise and good to have boundaries and sometimes I need to step back from spending time with others who manipulate me, use me, want to take up my family time, don't like my kids, are consistently selfish, etc.



Three parties that are a priority for me to be involved in planning this year:

*Dad's 50th Birthday in January

*Anna's Bridal Shower/reception in ?????

*Shiloh's Baby Shower in June

*Amy's 40th Birthday in September

At the end of 2009, I expect to see:

Jer having been potty-trained for half a year

Justus walking (my baby!!!)

Hopefully some kind of swingset in the yard for the kids

Ali recognizing all of her letter sounds and doing pre-reading stuff

The kids having memorized a lot of Scripture through repetitive reading

Myself to have memorized the Scriptures and questions from my "Wise Words for Moms" calendar which charts out things to ask when kids are needing discipline/training.

The economy still struggling and probably doing worse than it is currently doing

Us getting a real (not artificial!) Christmas tree for our house for the first time in all of our married life!

How would I like our home to be described in the coming year?

*A consistent, Christ-centered, training center

*A simple, restful haven

*A place where many friends, new and old, have found fellowship and hospitality

Making Your Home a Haven--Inviting and Giving

I love Monica's emphasis for today, because I believe our homes shouldn't just be havens for us, but in order to reach out to others and practice hospitality. She encourages us to INVITE and to GIVE.

Yesterday, for fun, we ended up making some paper bag puppets, and then I let the kids help me roll out and make homemade tortillas so we could have all of my family over for supper for tacos. I was very busy getting ready for supper, but it was so enjoyable to share a nice family meal together with my parents and two brothers. My brothers had fun chasing the kids around and wrestling with them after supper, which my kids loved!

Today's emphasis is Inviting and Giving. Since we had dinner guests last night, we won't be inviting anyone over today, but I do want to be thinking of what I can do next to share the haven of our home with others. There is an elderly man who lives across the street that I've been meaning to go meet and perhaps this weekend would be a good time to bake up some brownies and take them over! There are also a few couples whom we've been meaning to have over after church. Before we had kids we used to get together with others a few times a week for meals when we lived in friendly-Minnesota. Now, it seems like so much work or people seem too busy, and we're prone to hardly ever have anyone over. If we do have dinner guests it's usually my family. Soon we need to have those people over!

A verse I'm meditating on: Colossians 1:10 "...so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God."

In making my home a haven, I need to remember that I'm not doing it for ME, for MY GLORY, or for MY COMFORT, but that in all things I might please Him and bear fruit and increase in the knowledge of Him. This is why I so appreciate that Monica (the host of this theme this week) has continually emphasized time with God first and praying over the lists for the day.

Every Thursday night I grocery shop for the following week. Here's my menu plan for the next week:

Homemade Pizza

Ginger-orange-glazed shrimp, brown rice, corn (we normally NEVER buy seafood but it was on a clearance sale and sounded good!)

Turkey burgers on wheat buns, Doritos, fruit

Ravioli (the frozen kind) with spaghetti sauce and mozzarella cheese on top, salad, garlic toast

Pancakes, sausage, and eggs

Leftovers (usually the Sunday night meal)

Elk roast, baked potatoes, cooked carrots

What's the plan for today?

Get to organizing the kid's closet

Get Ali ready for her preschool Teddy Bear Picnic today

Take the boys shopping while Ali's at the picnic (Jer has a gift certificate to a toy store in town)

Get a couple of loads of laundry done

Get to the thrift store as my only pair of pants just bit the dust

*On a discouraging note* I went to do my weekly grocery shopping and when I returned the house was spotless! My hubby had gotten the kids to do a major clean-up before bed and had vacuumed, organized, put away all the clean dishes, taken the garbage out, and scrubbed down the table and counters. It looked amazing and I was blessed, but I was bummed too. How could my hubby accomplish in just one hour what I couldn't seem to get done after a week of trying to make my home a haven? I guess the main thing was that I had the baby with me and the kids were in bed, unable to destroy the results of cleaning within seconds! My momentary "bummed out" feeling was quickly replaced with gratitude that I have a hubby who helps out and that he saved me some work today!

Making Your Home a Haven Week--Fun!

Boy, this one is tough! Today we are supposed to think of something FUN for our homes to create a haven for our families. Somehow it's easier for me to jot down lengthy lists of what needs to be done, rather than come up with ideas for making today extra fun at our house.

Some things that come to mind:

A tea party (like Monica is planning with her girls)
A Reading Fiesta (make a tent blanket in the kids' room and read lots of books to them)
Turn on fun kids music and dance with them around the house
Do a craft (Ali was begging to do a craft yesterday)
Make muffins or cookies with them
Invite Uncle Coco over for supper

I guess I'll choose one or two of these ideas and report back tomorrow on how things went! I'm still playing catch-up from yesterday on many of the chores that just didn't get accomplished off of yesterday's list! I did finally get the floor mopped and vacuumed, made supper, went to library story time, and babysat for some friends for an hour at their house. I am learning that with three little ones it's very tough to accomplish all of your goals in a day, but I try to make sure that above all else we have time for God and Bible stories/songs/prayer no matter what other chores get forgotten.

Making Your Home a Haven Week--Cared For

I mentioned yesterday that I was participating in Monica's week-long Making Your Home a Haven challenge. Yesterday, the goal was to CLEAN. I got most of the stuff on my list accomplished, but didn't quite get the dishes totally done or the floor mopped since my baby was having a very fussy, needy day! The worst part of yesterday was that I had been putting off going to the post office for weeks and I finally got my packages together and mustered up enough determination to load 3 little ones into the car, unload them, and haul them all into the post office with an armload of packages....only to discover....that it was Veteran's Day and the post office was closed!!! Uuuuggghhh!

So...today the emphasis is to have a home that is CARED FOR. What little projects have I been putting off?

The plan is:

*Spend time with the kids reading the Bible/singing/praying ---DONE
*Spend time praying over my day and meditating on Scripture--DONE
*Make a list of things that need to be accomplished that I've been putting off:
--Go to the post office (AGAIN!)
--Mend a few things on the sewing table
--Finish the dishes that almost got completely done yesterday
--Make a large batch of homemade tortillas and freeze the extras
--Re-organize Ali and Jeremiah's closet and sort clothes (a job I seem to do constantly but it always needs re-doing since they grow so fast and seasons change...)

If I get a chance I will also mop and do a good vacuuming today! I'm hoping Justus will be less fussy today. Could have been all those green onions I ate a couple of days ago!

Want to participate and work on making your home a haven? Check out www.thehomespunheart.blogspot.com for inspiration and to link to your post.

Making Your Home a Haven Week!

Monica is doing a week-long emphasis on Making Your Home a Haven. I've always loved the motivation that comes with participating in this!

Today the theme is CLEAN.

My goals:

Spend time "cleaning" my heart through prayer and the Word.

Finish my last load of laundry, fold, and put away.

Deep Clean the kitchen (dishes, mopping the floor, straightening up)

Get some packages mailed that I need to stop procrastinating on

Make Pumpkin rolls and a cake for a family dinner tonight

Depending on how the baby is today, I may get double this amount of stuff accomplished or only one thing accomplished if he's fussy! But, I can always aim high!

An En Gedi Bedroom #2

Inspired by Heather's work on her bedroom, I decided to clean up our majorly messy bedroom and re-arrange this weekend. My husband was gone logging so it was very challenging to move the bed myself, but I love the results. Our bed used to be up against the window, leaving a little room on either side that quickly got piled up with junk and clutter. I cleaned out our closet and was able to stash a lot of things in our bedroom in the newly organized closet. The view from the entryway. I made the wild curtains (out of a huge wrap-around-skirt in tropical print) when we first moved in. Justus has his little bassinet in the corner, with a baby quilt I made a few years ago hanging behind for his "baby corner." He's starting to sleep mostly in his bassinet at night and sometimes naps there too.

My corner. I have to be very careful what I put on my nightstand since Jer naps on our bed and will reach over and get into stuff sometimes. Eventually I would like to re-paint this little dresser a different color. It was a yard sale find a few years ago and now holds baby things. It's hard to see from the pic but I have a couple of little posters on the wall ( a mom kneeling in prayer and a name plaque with a verse). The pillow was a gift from my mom. She made lots of little pillows out of an antique, family heirloom quilt and gave a pillow to all of the granddaughters and great-granddaughters.

The junkiest, most cluttered part of our room is a couple of feet beyond the foot of our bed. This is what it looks like straightened up! Because of our tight quarters, I couldn't get it any neater as I store my craft things, our bills and important papers, file our mail, store our books, our cards and art supplies, and all my medicine freebies from Walgreens here. This is our pantry and "office" and paper/art cabinet rolled into one. The large basket is filled with kid's books and we need to keep it out of little fingers' reach so the books are kept intact. We have some sturdy board books we let the kids keep in their room but this is how we maintain our nice books. The white smudge on the dark dresser is actually from when King Jo was a little boy and covered the dresser in stickers!

In order to break up the dull monotony of the really dark, oppressive walls, I hung this lacey, sage-green shower curtain behind the bed. I was using it in our living room but took it down to brighten up the living room a bit. It was a Wal-Mart clearance rack find. The imitation-down quilt is soft and poofy and was a like-new hand-me-down from a gal in my Bible study. I've always wanted one and I love this style of comforter. We do have a couple of other nice bed quilts that are hand-made that we can use to change the look of our room. White isn't the best for having little ones around and for a hubby with a dusty job, but at least white brightens up a very dark room.

On King Jo's nightstand: A picture of us on our wedding day and a small alarm clock.

King Jo's dresser was stacked high with junk, papers, and snowmobile helmets. I cleaned and straightened it and put the helmets in the closet (which is to the left of this dresser and has closing doors).

This pretty autumn swag was $1 or less at a yard sale this summer. It adds a homey touch to my side of the room.

I've always enjoyed photography, and like Heather, enjoy decorating with it to personalize the room. A pic of King Jo washing my feet on our wedding day reminds us to serve one another in our marriage.

What's next?

I'd like to copy Heather's idea of framing some verses from Song of Songs to add to the walls. Eventually I will refinish the two old junky dressers and paint them a pretty color. If we see some satiny sheets on clearance around Christmas time we will buy them as we only have cotton sheets and they are getting very threadbare.

When we have a home of our own, I can't wait to choose paint colors and coordinate curtains! My friend Shiloh recently got to do that, in remodeling the home they bought, and she has a pretty caramel-colored room with cream trim.

*The log furniture was a wedding gift as my dad is a log furniture builder.

Making my Home a Haven Monday

Today's projects have been getting things done that I have been putting off. These things are what I refer to as emotional debt. I cleaned up some paper piles, got bills ready to mail, tackled some cleaning/de-cluttering, made homemade bread, and am hoping to get the dishes done and baby thank-you notes done. With all of the winter coats and snowpants out now and needing to hang to dry, I'm feeling like our small apartment is overly cluttered and messy. I need to figure out a solution for that, perhaps moving some furniture out and getting a bigger coat basket or putting some hooks up or something.
The snow makes me want to bake more and play games and snuggle up and read stories with the kids. There is something fun about the first big snow and it's delightful to see the kids playing in it!

Making My Home a Haven---Diswhwashing Woes

Even though it seems Crystal has discontinued her Making Your Home a Haven carnival on Mondays, I plan to post on this wonderful subject as the mood strikes me. My home has been anything but haven-like in recent weeks as I've struggled to get basic chores done. I used to vacuum at least 5 times a week and now I'm lucky to get it done once a week since I have to try to do it when baby isn't nearby.
I'm finding it nearly impossible to get dishes done every day because Justus seems to want to be held a LOT and even if he's in his sling, I can't bend over him and do dishes comfortably. Then there is chasing the other two. It's hard to supervise their play while doing dishes. I often try to do 10 or 15 minutes worth while they wrestle with Daddy after supper or Ali washes along with me while Jer is napping in the morning but there just seems to be TOO MANY and I always get interrupted by someone or something before they are even close to finished. On Saturday, after a few days of not getting many dishes done and yet cooking a lot and making a ton of dirty dishes, I was so frustrated and sick of my kitchen feeling dirty that I was determined to do them at any cost! Funny thing is King Jo didn't have to work on Saturday morning this week and so he made me homemade waffles (breakfast in bed) which was a wonderful surprise. Then he started doing dishes. I felt bad that he would be doing "my" chore on his day off so when he refused to quit, I joined in and did them with him (the baby was miraculously sleeping) and we got MOST of them done and the kitchen looked so much better and I felt so much better. Don't you just feel like your whole house is dirty when the kitchen is dirty and piled high with dishes to wash? I'm no perfectionist, but it does bug me when I can't keep the house even remotely clean!

Life with 3 small ones would be so much easier if we had a dish washer, a washer and dryer in our home, and did not have cream-colored living room carpet or white linoleum in the kitchen but enough whining...

All I can say is we're in a survival mode of focusing on the main things like keeping baby fed and not worrying about perfection right now. Eventually, when Justus is older (or when he's riding around in his new Ergo) the house will look a lot cleaner. I have to remember that my attitude and what I'm training my kids is more important than polished floors, and nary a crumb in sight.

And on that note: I visited a new friend this week and was so delighted to see toys everywhere, books all around, and dirty dishes all over the counter. She's at a busy stage of life too and didn't feel the need to fix up or be perfect for my visit, which was so refreshing to me! It takes a lot of guts to be that vulnerable, but it blessed me!

Making My Home a Haven Monday---Back on Track!

My home is looking pretty nice what with all the nesting that went into it and the large amounts of help from hubby and the in-laws during the last week. A friend offered to bring dinner by tonight, even though the meals from church have stopped coming, and so today's focus is going to be getting back on track with my schedule.

At the beginning of the summer I realized that my home management binder felt too rigid and structured for the summer time and so I made a simple, one-page-for-a-whole-week summer schedule to glance at in my binder. I found that because I had built discipline and habits in my homemaking throughout the fall and spring with my more detailed schedule, even without a daily list to check off the household chores have gotten done as I was able and we have lived life as it came to us, at a fairly simple summer pace.

Now that I don't feel so drained of energy because of pregnancy weariness I am feeling like it's time to crack open that schedule binder and get down to business again. There are lots of things swirling in my mind that I need to get done, especially since the birth of a new baby means lots of initial doctor appointments and paperwork (getting our will done, filling out birth certificate forms, etc.)

So, I'm writing out a list of things I want to accomplish for the week and the various appts. we have for certain days. I have a list of thank-yous to tackle and a list of pre-school supplies to gather for Ali. I'm writing out a week's meal plan using up meals that I have frozen for these post-baby days and I'm making out a shopping list for the end of the week that I can tackle when I can take one or none of the kiddoes!

Don't worry friends. I don't plan to crazily exert myself and I really am taking it easy for complete healing even though it may not seem like it from my posts. With every child we gain in our family, I have been forced to become more organized and disciplined to survive. So, I'm just trying to figure out how our new schedule will work with 3 little ones to care for and try to map out what needs to get done. My hubby is going back to work today, my mom starts teaching school, and my in-laws are back in MN so I'm on my own now!

STAY TUNED for a new series I will be doing on my blog frequently called, "Three 3 and Under" which will highlight the things I learn along the way about taking care of 3 little ones.

Making My Home a Haven Monday

Since much of my de-cluttering and organizing is done and I'm playing the waaaaaiiiiiiiitttttttiiiiiiinnnnnggggg game, I've been dusting off those cooking ambitions that I seem to leave behind in pregnancy and have been trying some new recipes and delving into some new Taste of Home magazines I recently purchased at a yard sale for 10 cents. I have been so irritated at myself and my fatigue and my departure from my meal plans in previous weeks so it feels great to be back on track with serving my family good, wholesome meals. I seem to have more energy lately too, which helps.

I already posted on the whole wheat cinnamon rolls. I've also tried Laura's whole wheat applesauce bread (yum!) and her whole wheat pizza pockets. The pizza pockets are delicious! Even my hubby, who normally doesn't like whole-wheat pizza crust, loves them and they are delicious reheated as leftovers in the microwave! The recipe makes enough for about 13 hot pockets and 2 per adult are plenty filling for supper with a salad. I haven't tried freezing them yet but Laura freezes them for quick meals/lunches and they are a much healthier, and tastier, than the expensive store-bought Hot Pockets.

I'm thrilled to have found some new recipes that are healthier, filling, and that both my hubby and I, and the hard-to-please kiddoes, love!

Making My Home a Haven Monday

I didn't do a before pic but my lids used to just be randomly thrown in with the pots. Thanks to a brand new pot lid rack at a yard sale for 10 cents my pot lids look very nice now! On the right I store wire racks and placemats.
My silverware drawer was starting to look awful with odds and ends strewn about. I took a couple of small boxes out of my gift wrap stash and put sippy valves in one and clothespins (for closing up chip and snack bags) in the other. I weeded out a lot of rarely-used utensils and put them in a less-accessible cupboard, trying to keep this daily-used drawer more simple.

As you know, I've been madly cleaning, organizing, and preparing for the new baby. It feels really good to tackle all these "unfinished projects" and neglected areas of the house. I got most of the cabinets in my kitchen organized (a couple more to go today) and have been taking care of little piles of papers on my desk and dresser and other little odds and ends that get put off continually. I also need to clean out my Bible case as it is getting pretty cluttered with bulletins and sermon notes. Other areas that need worked on our the desk cubbies and under the couch (where I know stray toys are hiding!)

What are you working on in your home today?

Making My Home a Haven Monday

Top Photo: Before
Bottom Photo: After

While my closet isn't nearly as minimalist as Crystal's, I did feel really good after going through it and getting rid of a couple of grocery bags worth of clothing I no longer wear. I still have what looks like a lot of clothes (and that's not even including my fall/winter stuff that's in our storage shed) but the various seasons and occasions of my life demand that right now. I have a maternity wardrobe, a nursing wardrobe, clothes for summer and fall and sweaters for wearing over dresses, clothes for a funeral, casual dresses, church dresses, etc. I also need to have more than a few outfits since I have a little boy notorious for wetting through diapers onto me and due to the fact that we share one washer and dryer with 14 other people in our building, we can't always do laundry when we'd like to.

I bagged up the maternity clothes that no longer fit to store, and pulled out some post-pregnancy clothing so it will be ready when I bring baby home. I finally got rid of some outfits that were emotional burdens (so-and-so gave me this so I need to keep it even though I'd never wear it in a thousand years....) and it felt really good.

CLEANING THE CARS

I've been feeling a zealous kick of organizing everything in our house. Whether this is the supposed "nesting" instinct or just the realization that whenever I have a little energy I'd better get my rear in gear and get my life de-cluttered to make room for a new baby I don't know but I'm loving the way it feels to have these little cluttered areas cleaned up! For instance, I don't know how long it has been since we deep-cleaned our cars, but it's been bugging me so much that I finally determined that they would get cleaned out today. My hubby spent a few hours doing most of the hard stuff and I vacuumed them, washed mats, and hauled a laundry basket worth of toys, missing socks, shoes, and hair clips in from the cars. Since my hubby is a carpenter that spends much of his days sanding, his car was absolutely filthy with a thick coat of dust and woodchips. We are switching cars until our van arrives since his car has A/C and the other car (my Honda) will be sold in a couple of weeks. I did not want to bring Justus home in an inch thick layer of sawdust so it was IMPERATIVE to me that the car get cleaned. What a wonderful feeling to see it all pristine and toy and crumb-free tonight! King Jo estimates it will last about a day since he knows what 2 little ones can do in one outing in one of our vehicles!

Other areas I've been crazily organizing:

The PIT PILE in my bedroom:

What is it about our bedroom that becomes the catch-all for odds and ends and junk? Besides the bassinet and a bag of diapers/hospital bags and stuff for post-birth, there are so many piles of junk in my room. Somehow I ended up with a gallon of window washer fluid in that corner along with some large speakers King Jo wants to sell, and a big stack of photo albums and frames that we aren't using that need taken to the shed. On top of this there is my growing thrift store pile, my hand-wash laundry pile, a basket of children's books, a pile of books to take to the used book store, etc.

I finally got sick of NEVER having that corner of the bedroom clean and organized and madly attacked it. After a trip to our shed and a trip to the thrift store and used book store, that corner will be completely junk-free and I can stash a laundry basket or something there to catch dirty baby laundry.

Our BOOKSHELVES:

I love books, but I'm realizing more every year that I don't need to hold on to all the good books out there. I'm also finding out that books I thought were SO IMPORTANT to keep a few years ago now hold no interest for me, not to mention that I don't have time to read them. So, I trade them in at the used store for credit to buy other books, on subjects like how to get babies to sleep through the night and how to survive toddlerhood, etc.

BATHROOM:

I recently went through and sorted out our entire bathroom cabinet and organized things and took stock of what we have. I forced myself to get around to doing the absolutely easy things I've been meaning to do that I haven't done yet like putting a pretty pottery mug on the bathroom counter to hold our combs and brushes, etc.

KITCHEN

My next task is to do a touch-up re-straightening of the pantry and go through all the kitchen cabinets and throw out utensils or gadgets I never use. I also want to organize my pots and pans in neater fashion because if I don't I know someone who will when she comes to visit and see the new baby!

To top it all off, I have actually dusted my home for the first time in who-know-how-long! Being pregnant causes you to let a lot of things go, but I feel like I'm catching up now all at once!

Making My Home a Haven Monday

Yes, this post is a little behind since I'm posting it Monday night, but it's been a pretty busy day that has left me very little time for even trying to make my home a haven. The day started off with me getting my first ever cavity filled at 8 a.m. and I handled it without anesthesia. It wasn't all that painful and was over quite quickly, but I still think dentists are some of the scariest people on the planet, what with their whirring instruments and little drills they stick into your teeth! I think the smells were harder on me than anything!

Ali's swimming lessons also started today at 9 a.m. and she will have them M-T for 3 weeks straight. It is fun to watch her be all "grown up" and sit on the edge of the big pool while I watch from the bleachers and see her actually obeying her teachers and having fun. She is excited about going and I think she will learn a lot. It seems like almost every mom in town is there so it's nice to visit with other moms for an hour while we watch. Of course Ali had to do one of the gross-est things in the world (she never fails to amaze me with how many absolutely nasty things there are out there that kids can do) and slurp some water off the dirty pool floor during her lesson! Eeewww!

Since my mom was going on a big excursion to the big town I decided to go along. I was planning to wait until Thursday but jumped at the chance to split the gas money and have some help with the kids for the mega shopping. I got tons of stuff stocked up so I shouldn't need to hit Wal-Mart again until after Justus is born! And since Walgreens had some amazing deals on diapers, toliet paper, and paper plates (all things I was hoping to stock up on some more) I'm pretty much stocked up on everything that's really important now! Yeah! The kids did wonderful during the 4 hour trip and I even managed to squeeze in 2 loads of laundry and some vacuuming today after hauling everything in and putting it all away.

Tomorrow I really need to focus on making my home a haven since there are endless stacks of dishes to do, as usual, that I don't have the energy for tonight. I'm finding it harder and harder to get dishes done as I get closer to the end of the pregnancy, especially since it's a bit awkward to try to stand next to the sink with a big belly and it hurts my back to bend over the sink for very long. Oh to have a dishwasher! Someday......

At least I have a headstart on the 4th of July now that I got my shopping done at the beginning of the week. Thursday will be a salad-making day as we have 3 picnics to attend in 2 days and will be bringing potato salad and pretzel/jell-o salad to all of them!

Making my Home a Haven Monday

I don't know about you, but Mondays my home usually feels anything BUT a haven so it's good to have this emphasis to get weekend clutter cleared up. I don't know what it is about weekends that makes me feel like a zombie, but I have very little motivation sometimes when it comes to chores on weekends!

This week, my goal is to work on developing a Summer Schedule in my binder. I'm finding it harder to stick with my Spring schedule now that the weather is nice and the kids are begging to play outside the minute they are done with breakfast. I have decided that although we will still keep working some with alphabet and numbers in the summer I will avoid trying to do a "schooling" activity with Ali each day and rather just let her play outside, have pool parties, and do whatever crafts/games she wants to do as they fit in our schedule. She still colors at least once a day and she still enjoys her preschool activities (skill builders) when she needs something to do, but I'm taking it off of my schedule so that I can feel like it's not an emotional burden during the relaxing summer months.

I also need to refigure our morning devotion time too as it seems to be harder to implement in the summer. Basically, our apartment is pretty hot so we open the back and front door early in the morning, but the minute the kids are down from the table they run outside to play. I need to either get up earlier and eat breakfast with them (hubby lets me sleep in and does breakfast for the kids when I'm preggo) so I can do them right after or plan to do devos before or after naps.

Since starting my home management binder I've found that a lot of chores have become second nature. While it's fun to be able to check lots of things off the list throughout the day, I really could condense my schedule a lot by cutting the "no-brainers" off the list. Do I really need to check off that I made lunch since I'm pretty sure I will do it every day of my life with or without a list? Instead of having 15 -20 things on my list each day my summer schedule will consist of just the basics. For example:
Monday: General Straightening/Cleaning/Vacuuming
Tuesday: Deep Clean the Kitchen Day and Library Story Time
Wednesday: Pay Bills, General Cleaning Day, Read lots of books with kids
Thursday: Picnic at the Park with Friends Day, Clean Bedrooms
Friday: Plan Grocery Lists/Menus, Shop for the week, Date Night
Saturday: Family Fun Day, Yard work, Misc. chores

Of course I still need to include on my schedule various appointments and a reminder to give everyone their vitamins since that is still something I struggle with remembering. I will still keep my weekly and monthly lists the same too and work on those tasks throughout the week as I have time.

Do you completely ditch your schedule in the summer?