Gotta Save that Green Stuff

Money: wouldn't everyone like to have an endless supply of it?  We make enough to live comfortably.  My kids got everything on their Christmas wish list, except the Cookie dog that Kyra said was her #1 at the last minute.  I looked all over for that dog.  She got the Go Go Walking Pup instead and that poor dog is stuck in the corner of her room.  Go Go hasn't been played with since the day after Christmas.  That being said, maybe I should only not have even bought that dog and saved the $50 for something else.  Anyway, I ramble too much.  My point is I think my kids would be just as happy if they didn't get every single thing and just the couple most important ones.  Like Kyra wanted the 3DS so I got them both one or it would have been a fight over it.  Myles has a PS3 and PSP and I rarely see him with his 3DS.  That's more money I could have saved.   Why do I spend so much money on these kids?  Obviously we have to give them food, clothing, and shelter and that's a lot of money, but I have bought some of the dumbest toys.  The other day I bought a toy at the Dollar General and she literally broke it in the parking lot.  I should have just given a dollar to the person in line behind me. 

Don't get me wrong I'm not one to blow money all the time.  I don't buy anything that's not on sale and most of the time I have a coupon for it.  I save a lot of money that way. I don't get my hair cut often and I never get my nails done.  I just end up spending that money on something else (like crappy toys).  So my resolution for 2012 was to find a way to earn extra money for savings.  This week while truck shopping (my husband's Tacoma was bought back because of a recall so we had to get another truck)  I came across so many SUV's  that I would love to have.  I have been driving a mini van for too long. I'm not sure why I bought a mini van in the first place and we financed it so we ended up paying way more than it was worth.  So I have decided that my goal is to put some money in savings for a "rainy day" and put some money in a new car fund.  I wont save for a brand new car but I will make a "car payment" to myself.  Lord willing the van will last me until I can save enough to pay cash for a really nice used SUV.  I am determined that I do not want to pay a bank to borrow their money.  This may take me a few years but I think I will be that much more appreciative of it if I know that I have really worked hard to save this money for a car.

So if you see me at the Dollar Store or where ever and I a buying my kids something junky just cause they are begging for it; please come over and slap the back of my head and tell me not to do it LOL.

The Rant Of An Unorganized Mamma

Seriously I usually work on a blog on Friday morning while both kids are at school, lately I've been exercising on Friday mornings.  So to get a Saturday blog up I am doing typing it on Saturday. I feel like this blog is like my diary and if I type it up on Monday by Saturday my life and mood are so different that Mondays tone doesn't even apply to how I feel on Saturday. Does that make sense? I like to ramble. That is another reason I didn't post last Saturday I just ramble......OK so I'm just gonna say it's an unorganized rant of an unorganized mamma.

Sorry to my mamma ( I feel like I'm calling out my parents on both blogs this week).

I want to give you some background of why I think I have such a struggle with keeping up with housework. Well maybe this will be a list of poor excuses, but it's my blog and I will excuse my bad habits if I want to.  My mother worked a lot because my dad sucked at life. He only worked to take care of himself and even though he loved us in his own way he just never really grew up and acted like the father he should have.  So, as a young child I stayed with my grandparents most of the time after school.  My grandma keeps her house immaculate.  I think she has OCD really.  I saw how hard she worked everyday cleaning. She would eat standing up so she would be able to clean up our (there were 4 of us) messes.  She really was like Super Susie Homemaker. Like Martha Stewart and Rachel Ray have nothing on this lady.  On the other side of that is she never let us help her do chores or assigns us chores to do on a regular basis.  I wish now that I had paid more attention to her routine.  Granny never had to leave the house either so she had lot of time devoted to cleaning.  My oldest aunt told me she remembers Granny scrubbing and hanging out cloth diapers in the winter and her hands would be bleeding.  I think that as Americans we are spoiled now. Granny really had to work hard when she was young because she had no other choice. It's not that we are lazy but we are now a product of what modern convenience can do.  The point I'm trying to get to is.  I never learned to keep up with chores because at Granny's she did it for me.

When I was a young teenager I did a pretty good at keeping up with the house work. Again, mom was working swing shifts and not at home most of the time so  I cooked dinner after school and took care of alot of the housework.  I feel like there was never a big emphasis on  keeping things neat and orderly at home.  Mom was tired from working and she had health problems so she would do like a power clean when things got really messy. My dad was not around much he was too busy hunting and drinking to care about if we made our beds.

All that being said I didn't realize until adulthood that this is not OK with me to live like a slob. I have been struggling with this for the past eight years.  For some reason I just don't stay on my cleaning schedule. I do have two hyper active children that I have organized many chore charts for.  I have printed off every kind of chore system I can think of. I have even gone to a website http://www.mychorechart.com/ .  It is a really cool site that kids can earn points to exchange into money for doing simple chores.  I really try to get them involved in this so that when they grow up they will be able to properly take care of themselves.  I also need the help.  I feel like I live a bunch of slobs. Myself included, we don't but things away right after we use them.  The dishes don't make it to the sink.  The laundry stays in the bathroom floor until I put it in the the hamper. There is alot to do and I don't think I should have to do it all myself.  On the other hand when they do help I usually end up redoing it.  I honestly have so much trouble keeping up with putting away clutter that I don't get to do deep cleaning alot and that is my goal. I know my house will never be like Granny's, but my goal is to not cringe with embarrassment every time somebody knocks at my front door. I do clean daily. I'm not like a crazy hoarder, but I just never seem to get it all done.  I know what to do I am just having so much trouble sticking with it. It is like being on a diet.  I know what not to eat but I eat it anyway.

Last blog I challenged myself to turn my bedroom into a relaxing place to be. I did get it cleaned up but I still have a computer desk that is an eyesore.  My goal is to get that cleaned up this week and have a before and after posted for y'all. You wont believe how much stuff is piled on this desk.

My challenge for this week is to get my home back it order.  I am doing a power clean today. Then I am really going to stick with my chore list.  I will not got to sleep with toys in the floor, dirty dishes on the dining room table, or unfolded laundry.  I also have a bid project for my hallway that I want to get done this week.

Week One of Reforming Me

Well this blogging my goals is really working for me!  I have ben doing more deep cleaning and it feels good to be getting organized!!!  Saturday is the day that I make the kids clean their rooms.  I usually clean my daughter's room myself, but this time I made her do it.  She fought me on it at first, but I told her she wouldn't get to go to the pool party she wanted to go to and it didn't take her long to pick her toys and make her bed.  She did a good job too!  I think sometimes we underestimate what our kids can do. I vacuumed and helped her dust but I am really proud of how well she did.

 I started getting my kitchen cleaner on Sunday by cleaning all the grease splatter off my stove and back splash.  After cleaning that stove I know why Granny always said wipe and swipe those appliances after you cook.  Talk about having to use some elbow grease.  I don't know how I let things get so bad. I guess I have just been skating by on doing as little house work as I could get away with and cleaning appliances just wasn't in my cleaning regimen.

Monday I spent FOREVER cleaning the grease off my fridge which is beside my stove. Then I MammaBishop actually pulled out the fridge and cleaned behind it. I thought I was going to pass out for all the dust but I got through it.  I can now sleep better at night knowing that my refrigerator is clean behind it. I then went to the spice cabinet above my stove. Ugh what at jumbled mess that was. I would just take what I needed out and throw it back up there. I ended up throwing out quit a few spices that were out of date. 

 Then I went on to clear off the top of the fridge. There were things up there that had no business being up there.  With a toddler if there was something I didn't want her to get into  I just put it on top of the fridge. I also have a problem with not putting items back where they really belong. I have a pretty nice pantry cabinet for food storage but I put the food on top of the fridge.  I also used the top of the fridge for a medicine cabinet because my little angel girl would climb on the bathroom sink and get in the medicine cabinet.  Well now that she is four and a little calmer it is time to get my home back in order. It is also the perfect time to teach the kids how to stay organized. Maybe they wont have as hard of a time in their adulthood if I organize them now. I have been kinda like my mom was. Just put things like where ever and leave it till I need it.

                                     I have my bread basket back!!!! (Can you tell we love bread?)

I actually used the cabinet space above the refrigerator to store medicines that I did not dispose of. This cabinet was nearly empty before. What was I thinking??????  I am excited now to get more places in my home that have become a dumping ground organized.

Tuesday I barely got all of my regular chores done. I had to take my son for a checkup and med review and it always take two hours in that doctor's office. I got all my laundry folded and it was 11:30 pm. I was debating on whether to even do my extra cleaning project, but I am soooo glad I did. My kitchen island needed cleaning BAD. There I keep my small appliances. I had a rotisserie that was on it's last leg. In fact I don't know why I put it back down there in the first place.  I found a Bi Lo Catalina coupon under it that expired almost a year ago. I just keep thinking to myself, "Why haven't I been doing this regularly? It's not that hard to wipe down the kitchen!"   Tuesdays project only took me like 30 minutes, and when I do it regularly it will only take five.

The rest of my week was pretty busy so it was hard to do any extra deep cleaning. Friday I finally got the Boon Frog bath toy organizer I ordered from eBay a couple weeks ago.  So I got the bathroom toys out of the mesh bag they were in. My daughter even got on board with my "less is more" saying. She got rid of several bath toys. I got her some foam numbers and letters and told her she could have them if she gave most of her other bath toys away.  That made a BIG difference in my small bathroom.  Saturday I we went through my daughters room and got rid of  a trash bag and a large box of toy. Don't worry she is in now way deprived she still has a large toy box and her dresser and shelf headboard are still full of toys.  I think cutting back on the toy clutter will help keep things so much nicer.  She now knows where all her things belong and she has enjoyed cleaning her room this week and making her bed.

I have worked with both kids this week about being more responsible for their own things. My son takes out the trash, vacuums, puts away his own laundry. This morning I tough him how to fry his own eggs. He was proud of himself for making his own breakfast, and both kids did the dishes today. I will be rewashing when I go clean up from supper in a few minutes, but I think it is never too early to teach your children how to take care of themselves.   I love doing things for my children but I feel like if they are helping me I can get more things done around here.

Next Challenge:  Get My bedroom decluttered/organized. I want to want to hang out in my room to relax. Right now my room is a dumping ground for everything that doesn't have a "home".

The Truth Is.......

I would like for people to think I have it all together.  I have well behaved children, a wonderful marriage, an awesome well paying job, lots of money in the retirement fund, and a nice house that is squeaky clean.  The truth is.....my kids are wild like yard apes sometimes, my husband gets on my nerves and I get on his, I don't have my ideal career not that I don't love what I do,   I am frugal but I have no money saved back for old age, and my house is a mess!   So on my other blog I am giving myself a challenge every week to help me lose weight.   I want to use this blog to become more accountable for everything else in my life. I will focus on one topic every week.  Maybe when I put all these things together I will be closer to the person I want to be.   Don't get me wrong I am a happy person and enjoy my life. I just want make my quality of life a little better. I know that I have been considered an adult for like nine years but I'm really just learning to what I want my life to be like ya know.  I guess what people say is true; you don't really know who you are until you're around 30.  

Another thing that has really helped me on my journey of change is prayer.  The days that I pray in the mornings for focus and strength I always have a better day.  I want to make that my goal for everyday to be closer to God.  I am thankful everyday for the joy that I have in my heart because of  Jesus. So if in some of my blogs it sounds like I am complaining about my life just remember that really am happy; I just in vision more for my family and myself and I'm blogging for a little motivation.  My blogging may be helpful or just entertaining to you too, but I'm probably not going to have any great tips for life that are working for me now. I just want you to come along for the ride.

This week I will be working on my home and my daily cleaning schedule and some decluttering/organization projects. I will try to post some before and after pics next Saturday.  Stay tuned........

First Day Of School WHOOT WHOOT

Yay it's the first day of school.  Well she thinks it's BIG school, but she is going to her first day of W.E.E. school from 9-12.  More importantly the boy is going back to middle school and that means that for eight hours five days a week......180 days give or take a few sick days I will not have to play referee with my kids.  Also after discussing with myself for the past couple of years to home school or not to home school it decided that my kids and I just don't work that well together. I am getting better everyday on having patience with the kids, but I tell ya sometimes they just don't listen to a thing I say. How could I educate them in book learning when I can't even teach them the life lessons I want them to learn.  Well maybe that's not all true, but some days I do feel that way.  Some days though my girl will clean up her toys and make her bed without me even asking and my boy amazes me with some of the things that comes out of his mouth. Just when you think he isn't listening he does something that makes me so proud I want to cry.  All in all I guess my kids could be worse. In fact I know that they would be totally out of control without parental discipline. Some kids (like my baby brother) are born disciplined and some just have to have really good parenting.  Anyways, I know it's not Saturday and I am working on a Saturday Blog but I just wanted to share.  If you had the chance would you home school your kids? Why or why not? Comment below :)