Thursday, April 1, 2010
If you....
give a pig a pancake...That is the kind of day we are having today and my frustration level is on the rise. I had one plan for today. Change my laundry room from a family closet into a mudroom. The constant piles of clean and dirty laundry all over the laundry room, mixed with the monstrous piles of shoes, books and jackets that keep collecting in the kitchen have pushed me to the limit and I decided that I must cut some clutter and redistribute the remaining in a way that is easier to manage for all of us. A daunting task, but my goal for the day none the less. Before my plans could materialize into action I found myself cuddling a sick child, refereeing so many battles and fights that I can't even count them, and looking over a pile of boxes that my son, trying to be helpful, drug in from the garage so that I could unpack them. I now cannot walk through the dining room or get to the kitchen table. The washer and dryer are no longer accessible because of the amount of things piled in front of them and on top of them. It is already 1:00 pm and the hopes for a shower have vanished. My children's ability to stay focused on a task and follow through to completion seems to have gone with the wind, or I should say gone with the appearance of the sun and my patience with them is very thin. I'd love to run away from the mess and the chaos, but I must persevere and have hope that soon order will return to our home and day. Surely God has a plan amidst the chaos and His goodness and mercy shall overcome.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
A New Chapter
The last week and a half I spent clearing out clutter, sorting through boxes of momentos, reminiscing about the good and bad of our nine and half years in Iowa and visiting with dear friends who have blessed my life immensely and who I will miss tremendously. Friday morning as we pulled out at at 5 am with the trailer loaded with our worldly treasures my mind was filled with wonderful memories of long, sunny days lounging at the park with friends, all the prayer, support and encouragement these same friends poured into my life, the many opportunites we had to serve and minister to others here but as the sun began to rise and I took in the beauty of the dawn as it bloomed over the open prairie my mind turned to the new opportunities God has waiting for us in the south. Over the last year and a half I have wrestled with God over this move. I knew it was coming and I appreciate the time He gave me to adjust to it. I now can rest in His perfect peace that this is where He has for us at this appointed time. I look forward with anticipation to the relationships and ministry opportunities He has for us here, not the least of which is the new child we will welcome into our family in November.
Monday, March 1, 2010
March Madness
This morning started as a normal day with me opening my eyes to the all too familiar question, "Mommy, what's for breakfast?". As I mumbled "oatmeal" I began to formulate the plan for the day in my mind, lessons to finish, a history test, music to practice, laundry to put into motion and maintain, read out loud a couple of chapters and a couple of appointments that required being out the door around noon....Yes, it was going to be a busy morning! I quickly directed the children to their different tasks and we were off and running. First interruption of the morning...a smelly dog and kennel. The dog just couldn't wait for the boys to decide exactly who's turn it was to walk him. So my first load of laundry was decided and the dog got some TLC from some kiddos.
The rest of the morning progressed on somewhat chaotically with a slightly damp dog in the middle of it all, but we did manage to get everything accomplished and out the door on time. Let me rephrase that, we finished up the school work that needed to be done, but the housework got neglected as we had to rush out the door.
While out I decided to pick up some chocolate so that I could attempt PW's Mocha Brownies. Upon returning home we ignored the previously neglected housework and set about making this treat. Let me tell you they are dangerous! Dangerously delicious. Dangerously fattening with a pound of butter hidden in there. Dangerously messy with the help of a toddler and preschooler, especially when the chocolate covered toddler grabs the spatula and runs through the house! I had to call in reinforcements as I pursued her giggling self down the hall. She thought getting to play in the running water of the sink was just as fun as licking and smearing chocolate every where.
Despite the fact that they day didn't go as previously planned and imagined we did accomplish all that the Lord had planned for us today...a mountain of laundry folded and put away, dinner cooked, the kitchen put back in order, a sweet treat, and a some good reading time before bed. My kitchen floor still needs to be mopped as traces of the chocolate covered toddler are still visible...I'll think about that tomorrow, after all tomorrow is another day full of adventure and opportunity, which is quickly approaching bringing with it the standard greeting of "Mommy, what's for breakfast?"
The rest of the morning progressed on somewhat chaotically with a slightly damp dog in the middle of it all, but we did manage to get everything accomplished and out the door on time. Let me rephrase that, we finished up the school work that needed to be done, but the housework got neglected as we had to rush out the door.
While out I decided to pick up some chocolate so that I could attempt PW's Mocha Brownies. Upon returning home we ignored the previously neglected housework and set about making this treat. Let me tell you they are dangerous! Dangerously delicious. Dangerously fattening with a pound of butter hidden in there. Dangerously messy with the help of a toddler and preschooler, especially when the chocolate covered toddler grabs the spatula and runs through the house! I had to call in reinforcements as I pursued her giggling self down the hall. She thought getting to play in the running water of the sink was just as fun as licking and smearing chocolate every where.
Despite the fact that they day didn't go as previously planned and imagined we did accomplish all that the Lord had planned for us today...a mountain of laundry folded and put away, dinner cooked, the kitchen put back in order, a sweet treat, and a some good reading time before bed. My kitchen floor still needs to be mopped as traces of the chocolate covered toddler are still visible...I'll think about that tomorrow, after all tomorrow is another day full of adventure and opportunity, which is quickly approaching bringing with it the standard greeting of "Mommy, what's for breakfast?"
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Learning with Life
Each and everyday presents numerous opportunities to teach our children and expand their horizons without ever opening a textbook. Here are a few of the opportunities we took advantage of in the last few days.
Baking with Mommy
Looking for locations on a map
Pedicures
Spelling words on the driveway
Baking with Mommy
Looking for locations on a map
Pedicures
Spelling words on the driveway
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Organization
I had the opportunity to attend a local homeschool mom's encouragement meeting this week and listen to Allison Carter, a professional organizer share some tips of the trade. I will attempt to translate my notes here and share with you some of the most meaningful tidbits I gleaned(at least meaningful to my situation).
Part of being organized is not needing to do extra work. Keep your system simple, and easy to use, not one that creates extra work. I knew she was talking to me here because my systems are always so complicated that I can't seem to follow through with them or be consistent with them because they OVERWHELM me! She also addressed the fact that many of us creative types change our systems constantly not because they are not working but because we are bored with them. Yep, that's me again! And of coarse there is the fact that my perfectionism knows there must be a more "perfect system" that will bring magical results and it is just waiting for me to create it or discover it. We all agreed that the purpose of organizing is to save time and money, reduce stress, promote peace and harmony at home and train our children in stewardship of time and things.
Keep in mind that in running our homes we are running a business, only thing is we can't fire the help, aka: our family. We need to: 1. Give clear instructions. 2. Have clear expectations. 3. Clear and consistent consequences. Remember up above where I said I became overwhelmed? Help! How exactly does one give clear instructions, clear expectations and consistent consequences??? I better take these to the Lord in prayer and seek my husband for wisdom.
As far as expectations go, well we were exhorted to set our perfectionist tendencies aside, lower our expectations to achievable and let our kids help, but don't try and redo or fix what they do. Ahhhh, some lessons are learned very slowly. At least I'm free from sock matching perfection...just find a similar shape and color put them together and call them a pair or better yet let the kids grab two out of the large drawer full of unmatched socks. I also no longer wince when I find the kids have washed their white socks with their jeans, they really aren't white very long anyway because of all the mud and dirt in their shoes.
Here is another solved mystery! For years I tried to set up a separate homeschool area, first one was in the basement...we NEVER went down there, it was drab and depressing and felt like it was too far away...next one was in the sun room right off the kitchen...still felt closed off from life, although at least this roomy was bright and sunny...the house we are in now I set the dining room up for school, but we always end up at the kitchen table or in the den on the sofa. Why? Kids want to be near mom! Where is mom? In the kitchen, which is the hub of the house. So store you books and supplies out of the way in portable containers that can be moved to the hub of the home when needed...at least I had finally figured this one out, but I now have the freedom to enjoy this discovery and the fact that the laundry room is just a step away from the kitchen table so now our school really is in the heart of where I spend my time...the kitchen and laundry room.
Are you like most Americans, who is drowning in paper. Well here is the overview of Allison's Communication System where all paper must pass. The key here is sorting by what it the next action that needs to be taken.
Here are the File headings she recommended:
1. To Do - anything that needs immediate attention, like repairs, phone calls, etc
2. To Pay - make sure to check this one weekly or bi-weekly and take care of them in a timely manner, to avoid late fees and such.
3. To Go - events, appointments, anything you will attend.
4. Waiting For/Pending - this would be things like insurance bills, rebates you've submitted, orders waiting to receive, things that you need to discuss with you husband before a decision is made.
5. To File - items that you need to keep and file away
6. Coupons - this is service, restaurant coupons, gift cards etc. If you are a coupon clipper you want a system devoted entirely to organizing those.
7. To Enter - items of information that need to be entered into your computer or address book. Allison recommended www.evernote.com as a way of storing and organizing this information on your computer.
You can set up folders of these same titles in your email program to help you sort emails as they come through as well.
For school paper organization you will want a separate file area and possibly more depending upon how you choose to sort. You may want to sort by child, year, subject, etc. The key to remember is that you don't need to keep everything but only a representation of the work each child has done or is doing. For keepsakes give each child 2 boxes to store their treasures, again they only need to keep a representation. For Photos start with the current and work backward. Don't get caught up in details. Sort by year or event instead of by date. Drop the perfectionism and enjoy the memories!
Now to tackle our clothing and laundry! Did you know that there are 7 steps involved in doing laundry? Despite the fact that I spend an enormous amount of time doing laundry, I've never stopped to count the steps. Just in case you want to know what you are spending your time on here they are:
1. Into Hamper
2. Sort
3. Wash
4. Dry
5. Hang/Fold
6. Put Away
7. Iron
Doesn't it make you feel more productive to look at how many steps you've been accomplishing? Of course I tend to experience delays and interruption at steps 5 or 6 and I only do step 7 on a need only basis, ie: grab it from the closet and do it right before I put it on. At steps 5 and 6 is where many people get derailed and it is very possibly because of perfectionism and not letting anyone help us in this area. We want our clothes folded and put away neatly. Then again it could be because we don't want to find a pile of clean clothes tossed back in the hamper because someone was just too lazy to open the drawer and put them away. Maybe giving our kids large baskets in which to toss their clean clothes would work better than sets of drawers where they have to sort, open, cram, close, well you get the idea.
Now here is the flip side of the coin: WE OWN TOO MANY CLOTHES!!! How much clothing you can own is dependent upon the amount of available space you have for storing it. You can only own what fits in your space. If you don't have a lot of space, you can't have a lot of stuff. Of coarse this is true across the board not just for clothes. If you have say 6 kids who are sharing a small space you might actually run out of space without having enough clothes to keep everyone dressed in clean clothes. So the larger than the normal family in the normal size family space will have to be creative with storage and brutal when it comes to discarding excess. Just remember it is just stuff and stuff after all is crap! Our internal contentment should come from who we are as a child of God not from our stuff.
Here are a few final tips. Sort everything by how it is used. Examples would be toys, if your children play with the blocks and cars together, then store them together instead of constantly sorting them out. Put things together in kits. Have a paint kit that includes ALL the items your children need for painting: brushes, paints, cups, paper, smocks...
Organizing works best when one little action creates big results.
We are unhappy because we think we NEED new stuff to be fulfilled. This stuff clutters our homes and our lives.
CHAOS=Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome
A final quote that a friend had on her facebook status, which pretty much sums up the importance of having a place for everything, which to me is organization.
"The key to finding a thing is knowing where it is."
-Tigger
I hope my muttled notes and thoughts help you to tackle some of your clutter and bring some order to your CHAOS and I hope they do they same for me.
Part of being organized is not needing to do extra work. Keep your system simple, and easy to use, not one that creates extra work. I knew she was talking to me here because my systems are always so complicated that I can't seem to follow through with them or be consistent with them because they OVERWHELM me! She also addressed the fact that many of us creative types change our systems constantly not because they are not working but because we are bored with them. Yep, that's me again! And of coarse there is the fact that my perfectionism knows there must be a more "perfect system" that will bring magical results and it is just waiting for me to create it or discover it. We all agreed that the purpose of organizing is to save time and money, reduce stress, promote peace and harmony at home and train our children in stewardship of time and things.
Keep in mind that in running our homes we are running a business, only thing is we can't fire the help, aka: our family. We need to: 1. Give clear instructions. 2. Have clear expectations. 3. Clear and consistent consequences. Remember up above where I said I became overwhelmed? Help! How exactly does one give clear instructions, clear expectations and consistent consequences??? I better take these to the Lord in prayer and seek my husband for wisdom.
As far as expectations go, well we were exhorted to set our perfectionist tendencies aside, lower our expectations to achievable and let our kids help, but don't try and redo or fix what they do. Ahhhh, some lessons are learned very slowly. At least I'm free from sock matching perfection...just find a similar shape and color put them together and call them a pair or better yet let the kids grab two out of the large drawer full of unmatched socks. I also no longer wince when I find the kids have washed their white socks with their jeans, they really aren't white very long anyway because of all the mud and dirt in their shoes.
Here is another solved mystery! For years I tried to set up a separate homeschool area, first one was in the basement...we NEVER went down there, it was drab and depressing and felt like it was too far away...next one was in the sun room right off the kitchen...still felt closed off from life, although at least this roomy was bright and sunny...the house we are in now I set the dining room up for school, but we always end up at the kitchen table or in the den on the sofa. Why? Kids want to be near mom! Where is mom? In the kitchen, which is the hub of the house. So store you books and supplies out of the way in portable containers that can be moved to the hub of the home when needed...at least I had finally figured this one out, but I now have the freedom to enjoy this discovery and the fact that the laundry room is just a step away from the kitchen table so now our school really is in the heart of where I spend my time...the kitchen and laundry room.
Are you like most Americans, who is drowning in paper. Well here is the overview of Allison's Communication System where all paper must pass. The key here is sorting by what it the next action that needs to be taken.
Here are the File headings she recommended:
1. To Do - anything that needs immediate attention, like repairs, phone calls, etc
2. To Pay - make sure to check this one weekly or bi-weekly and take care of them in a timely manner, to avoid late fees and such.
3. To Go - events, appointments, anything you will attend.
4. Waiting For/Pending - this would be things like insurance bills, rebates you've submitted, orders waiting to receive, things that you need to discuss with you husband before a decision is made.
5. To File - items that you need to keep and file away
6. Coupons - this is service, restaurant coupons, gift cards etc. If you are a coupon clipper you want a system devoted entirely to organizing those.
7. To Enter - items of information that need to be entered into your computer or address book. Allison recommended www.evernote.com as a way of storing and organizing this information on your computer.
You can set up folders of these same titles in your email program to help you sort emails as they come through as well.
For school paper organization you will want a separate file area and possibly more depending upon how you choose to sort. You may want to sort by child, year, subject, etc. The key to remember is that you don't need to keep everything but only a representation of the work each child has done or is doing. For keepsakes give each child 2 boxes to store their treasures, again they only need to keep a representation. For Photos start with the current and work backward. Don't get caught up in details. Sort by year or event instead of by date. Drop the perfectionism and enjoy the memories!
Now to tackle our clothing and laundry! Did you know that there are 7 steps involved in doing laundry? Despite the fact that I spend an enormous amount of time doing laundry, I've never stopped to count the steps. Just in case you want to know what you are spending your time on here they are:
1. Into Hamper
2. Sort
3. Wash
4. Dry
5. Hang/Fold
6. Put Away
7. Iron
Doesn't it make you feel more productive to look at how many steps you've been accomplishing? Of course I tend to experience delays and interruption at steps 5 or 6 and I only do step 7 on a need only basis, ie: grab it from the closet and do it right before I put it on. At steps 5 and 6 is where many people get derailed and it is very possibly because of perfectionism and not letting anyone help us in this area. We want our clothes folded and put away neatly. Then again it could be because we don't want to find a pile of clean clothes tossed back in the hamper because someone was just too lazy to open the drawer and put them away. Maybe giving our kids large baskets in which to toss their clean clothes would work better than sets of drawers where they have to sort, open, cram, close, well you get the idea.
Now here is the flip side of the coin: WE OWN TOO MANY CLOTHES!!! How much clothing you can own is dependent upon the amount of available space you have for storing it. You can only own what fits in your space. If you don't have a lot of space, you can't have a lot of stuff. Of coarse this is true across the board not just for clothes. If you have say 6 kids who are sharing a small space you might actually run out of space without having enough clothes to keep everyone dressed in clean clothes. So the larger than the normal family in the normal size family space will have to be creative with storage and brutal when it comes to discarding excess. Just remember it is just stuff and stuff after all is crap! Our internal contentment should come from who we are as a child of God not from our stuff.
Here are a few final tips. Sort everything by how it is used. Examples would be toys, if your children play with the blocks and cars together, then store them together instead of constantly sorting them out. Put things together in kits. Have a paint kit that includes ALL the items your children need for painting: brushes, paints, cups, paper, smocks...
Organizing works best when one little action creates big results.
We are unhappy because we think we NEED new stuff to be fulfilled. This stuff clutters our homes and our lives.
CHAOS=Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome
A final quote that a friend had on her facebook status, which pretty much sums up the importance of having a place for everything, which to me is organization.
"The key to finding a thing is knowing where it is."
-Tigger
I hope my muttled notes and thoughts help you to tackle some of your clutter and bring some order to your CHAOS and I hope they do they same for me.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
A Favorite Place
There is a magical place that will whisk you away to anyplace you can imagine and it is one of my favorite places to visit. Where is this place you might ask? The local library! A place full of worlds to visit, countries to explore, interests to discover, talents to develop, and more discoveries than my mind can comprehend. I love to wander the aisle and browse the shelves discovering new treasures. After my brief visit there over the weekend I came home with a pile of magazines for the kids, The Children's Homer, DSLR Photography Books for me, On The Banks of Plum Creek audio cd's for the kids...just to name a few. In the last few weeks I've read The House at Sugar Beach, The Relaxed Homeschooler and many a picture book to the kids. Whatever your interest I urge you to visit the library and see what treasures you can discover. Happy Reading!
Monday, January 25, 2010
Cookies for my Cookie Monsters
What child and mother doesn't love cookies? Baking cookies is a favorite around our house, measuring, stiring, eating the dough, shaping the cookies, baking, eating...MMMMM. Here is one of our favorite recipes.
Coconut Oatmeal Pecan Cookies
1 cup of coconut oil(butter can be used, but coconut oil is yummier and healthier)
1 cup of raw sugar
1/2 cup of honey or maple syrup
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups of unbleached all purpose flour or fresh ground white wheat
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
1/4 teaspoon of salt
2 1/2 cups of quick cooking oats
1-1 1/2 cups of chopped pecans
1/2-1 cup of shredded coconut(I use unsweetened)
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease the baking sheets. In a large bowl cream the coconut oil with the sweeteners until light and fluffy, then add eggs one at a time, beating well. Stir in the vanilla. In a separate bowl mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt with a whisk. Add slowly to the creamed mixture, then stir in by hand oats, nuts and coconut. Shape into small balls and bake for 10-12 minutes.
If you are using fresh ground flour you may need more of the nuts and coconuts and if you used all purpose flour you may need a bit more of the liquid sweetner. Just have fun experimenting. This recipe always turns out well no matter what adaption I make to it.
Enjoy!
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