I started work today. It was fun but I am definitely tired. I got very use to sleeping until 7 and then being lazy until 9. That doesn't work anymore. My alarm goes off at 515 and I have to be out the door by 630. I start work at 8. And so because I am tired, cleaning is taking more effort than it should.
And because of this, I am going to assign myself chores for the rest of the week, allowing myself to slack off on some things while still, hopefully, keeping the house from falling apart.
Tonight I didn't do a whole lot. I found a home for all my new benefit information. I gathered the documents and information that I need for work tomorrow. I did the dishes and cleaned up the kitchen. I picked up the living room, with the help of Alexis.
Tuesday - Dining room - this will include folding any baskets of clothes, sweeping, decluttering the table.
Wednesday - Living room - this will include putting away the toys that Alexis pushes
to the side of the floor instead of picking up, vacuuming, sweeping.
Thursday - Kitchen/bathroom - clean the clutter from the counters, transfer leftovers to the freezer if necessary, gather dirty clothes
Friday - clean sweep - just do a runthrough of the entire downstairs to get everything for...
Saturday - sweep all rooms, vacuum, clean fridge, gather laundry from bedrooms, grocery shop
That is my week in a nutshell. Should be busy, but kind of fun.
Oh and just a side note...I found a super easy, super yummy way to make a quick supper.
Meatball Open Faced Sandwiches
Servings 2
4 pieces of bread (any type will work. I used sandwich bread because that's what I had)
16 meatballs
Spaghetti sauce
Garlic salt, to taste
Parmesan cheese, for sprinkling
Mozzarella cheese, for sprinkling
Toast 2 pieces of bread per family member. (I did not butter my toast)
Cook meatballs (do you have meatballs that you've prepared on a weekend and put in the freezer for later use. This is what I was using. If not you can buy them or make them from scratch, just makes it take a little longer) in spaghetti sauce.
When heated place meatballs on the toast. Sprinkle with garlic salt, mozzarella and parmesan. Serve with steamed veggies or a salad.
Just a quick idea for dinner that I found delicious tonight.
Swaaaaagbuuuuuuuuuucks
Showing posts with label housework. Show all posts
Showing posts with label housework. Show all posts
Monday, January 24, 2011
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
HELP
So I am here to admit the following weaknesses
1. I am not an organized person. Not by any stretch of the imagination.
2. I am not a frugal person. I love to shop when I have the money to do so. And I'm not so good at saving.
3. I am not a domestic goddess. I hate cleaning, I hate laundry. (ok I LOVE to cook but we'll pretend that isn't part of this. You will understand in a minute)
4. I am not the world's best mom. I do my best in this arena however and I always love my daughter, even if I'm frustrated and ready to pull my hair out.
Now an example of what I mean for each.
1. I have great plans. And I will even go through and organize things. My desk for example. I went through and put my standing filer on my desk, I emptied my drawers and made one for my notebooks, one for books that I peruse frequently (the bible, early childhood activites, etc), and one for magazines that I need to read, clip articles I want, and toss. Now my desk is covered in papers, mail, clothes that need put away, items that need a home and don't have one. My drawers have become a catchall again to help with the eye sore. And I am ready to pull out my hair.
2. I went to the dollar store today to buy an alarm clock. That is ALL I needed. I walked out with an alarm clock, 2 packages of looseleaf paper, 2 small notebooks (one to carry in my purse for those oh crap moments in the car and one for wedding plans that can also go in my purse because people always call back when I'm away from home), a family organizer (for bills), and a small weekly planner (again for in my purse so I don't have scraps of paper with appointments in my purse).
3. I had my entire house clean on Saturday. Sunday I mostly sat back and enjoyed it, trying to keep up with a 4 year old hurricane, a 14 year old tsunami and 17 year old tornado. Monday I was mentally and physically exhausted and couldn't find the motivation to do more than the dishes. Today I'm disgusted with how long I've put things off and am waiting until I have ''more time'' tomorrow to do it.
4. My daughter does not want to pick up her toys. I do not want to fight with her. I do not want to listen to her scream. (If you read my previous blog post you know I took Grandpa to the doctor today and that is a day in and of itself. And it takes as much patience as it does with a small child because you want to help to pick up the pace but you know it will only frustrate them if you do and take away a piece of their independence that he is already losing)
None of these make me a bad person. I know this. However (and the reason I am devoting this much time and effort to explaining these downfalls of mine) this is the year that I plan to do better at all of these. And........that's right I have another list of how I want to achieve this.
1. Organize better
A. With moving out of my parents house I will be able to set up an organizational system that works for ME and that will be the norm from the beginning.
B. Until that time I am just going to give myself 2 days a week that I reorganize my areas. Thursday and Sunday. (Wednesday being the day that I am least likely to care about organization on any level with leaving home at 630am and not getting home until sometime after 6 if I'm lucky and Sunday being the day before the week starts)
C. Make a conscious effort to put things in their homes, not just where I can put them down. Also make their homes be simple and easy to do.
2. Spend less
A. Make a list. If it isn't on the list, add it to the list for next time. If, when I make up the new list, I still want then look at if it is something I need now, something I can wait until the end of the month to see if I have the money in the budget, or something I just want and can put on my Christmas\Birthday list
B. Clip coupons. Shop from the coupons.
C. Keep a journal of all items I purchase. At the end of the month add up the ''silly'' or ''unnecessary'' purchases and see how much money I ''wasted''
3. Clean better\more
A. Set up a schedule. Stick to the cleaning schedule. Post somewhere easy to see, like bedroom door.
B. Do not be afraid to ask for help. A 14 year old and a 17 year old should not be forces of nature to destroy, rather allies to ask for help.
C. Use a basket system. (I will expand on this tomorrow when I start it)
D. Do not allow things to 'wait for tomorrow' Tomorrow I will not want to do it anymore, additional items will be piled up, and I will have more reason to procrastinate.
4. Be a better mom (I do want to say that every mom wants to be a better mom, this is just the areas I want to work on)
A. When we move out work on nutrition, and not being a short order cook.
B. Set up a routine for in the evenings. Do not vary. Include bath, pick up, etc in this.
C. Have a set discipline. Do not change based on who is home, even if they try to override it. Speak with my parents about how I am going to discipline my child and let them know I need them to respect this.
D. Allow for special 'treats' such as baking cookies together, doing a puzzle, playing a game, on weekends when she has followed the routine and picked up her toys all week.
I am learning. My daughter may be 4 but I am 24. I am still learning what works for us. I am starting a new job, no longer going to school. Instead of going to school from 8a to 1230p, I will be working from 8a to 430p. I have to find things that work. If you have any ideas, thoughts, etc please feel free to comment. If you have a blog and you think it might help, or maybe even just give me someone I can feel for and laugh with, leave the link for me.
1. I am not an organized person. Not by any stretch of the imagination.
2. I am not a frugal person. I love to shop when I have the money to do so. And I'm not so good at saving.
3. I am not a domestic goddess. I hate cleaning, I hate laundry. (ok I LOVE to cook but we'll pretend that isn't part of this. You will understand in a minute)
4. I am not the world's best mom. I do my best in this arena however and I always love my daughter, even if I'm frustrated and ready to pull my hair out.
Now an example of what I mean for each.
1. I have great plans. And I will even go through and organize things. My desk for example. I went through and put my standing filer on my desk, I emptied my drawers and made one for my notebooks, one for books that I peruse frequently (the bible, early childhood activites, etc), and one for magazines that I need to read, clip articles I want, and toss. Now my desk is covered in papers, mail, clothes that need put away, items that need a home and don't have one. My drawers have become a catchall again to help with the eye sore. And I am ready to pull out my hair.
2. I went to the dollar store today to buy an alarm clock. That is ALL I needed. I walked out with an alarm clock, 2 packages of looseleaf paper, 2 small notebooks (one to carry in my purse for those oh crap moments in the car and one for wedding plans that can also go in my purse because people always call back when I'm away from home), a family organizer (for bills), and a small weekly planner (again for in my purse so I don't have scraps of paper with appointments in my purse).
3. I had my entire house clean on Saturday. Sunday I mostly sat back and enjoyed it, trying to keep up with a 4 year old hurricane, a 14 year old tsunami and 17 year old tornado. Monday I was mentally and physically exhausted and couldn't find the motivation to do more than the dishes. Today I'm disgusted with how long I've put things off and am waiting until I have ''more time'' tomorrow to do it.
4. My daughter does not want to pick up her toys. I do not want to fight with her. I do not want to listen to her scream. (If you read my previous blog post you know I took Grandpa to the doctor today and that is a day in and of itself. And it takes as much patience as it does with a small child because you want to help to pick up the pace but you know it will only frustrate them if you do and take away a piece of their independence that he is already losing)
None of these make me a bad person. I know this. However (and the reason I am devoting this much time and effort to explaining these downfalls of mine) this is the year that I plan to do better at all of these. And........that's right I have another list of how I want to achieve this.
1. Organize better
A. With moving out of my parents house I will be able to set up an organizational system that works for ME and that will be the norm from the beginning.
B. Until that time I am just going to give myself 2 days a week that I reorganize my areas. Thursday and Sunday. (Wednesday being the day that I am least likely to care about organization on any level with leaving home at 630am and not getting home until sometime after 6 if I'm lucky and Sunday being the day before the week starts)
C. Make a conscious effort to put things in their homes, not just where I can put them down. Also make their homes be simple and easy to do.
2. Spend less
A. Make a list. If it isn't on the list, add it to the list for next time. If, when I make up the new list, I still want then look at if it is something I need now, something I can wait until the end of the month to see if I have the money in the budget, or something I just want and can put on my Christmas\Birthday list
B. Clip coupons. Shop from the coupons.
C. Keep a journal of all items I purchase. At the end of the month add up the ''silly'' or ''unnecessary'' purchases and see how much money I ''wasted''
3. Clean better\more
A. Set up a schedule. Stick to the cleaning schedule. Post somewhere easy to see, like bedroom door.
B. Do not be afraid to ask for help. A 14 year old and a 17 year old should not be forces of nature to destroy, rather allies to ask for help.
C. Use a basket system. (I will expand on this tomorrow when I start it)
D. Do not allow things to 'wait for tomorrow' Tomorrow I will not want to do it anymore, additional items will be piled up, and I will have more reason to procrastinate.
4. Be a better mom (I do want to say that every mom wants to be a better mom, this is just the areas I want to work on)
A. When we move out work on nutrition, and not being a short order cook.
B. Set up a routine for in the evenings. Do not vary. Include bath, pick up, etc in this.
C. Have a set discipline. Do not change based on who is home, even if they try to override it. Speak with my parents about how I am going to discipline my child and let them know I need them to respect this.
D. Allow for special 'treats' such as baking cookies together, doing a puzzle, playing a game, on weekends when she has followed the routine and picked up her toys all week.
I am learning. My daughter may be 4 but I am 24. I am still learning what works for us. I am starting a new job, no longer going to school. Instead of going to school from 8a to 1230p, I will be working from 8a to 430p. I have to find things that work. If you have any ideas, thoughts, etc please feel free to comment. If you have a blog and you think it might help, or maybe even just give me someone I can feel for and laugh with, leave the link for me.
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Flying high -- It's Superwoman
It is a wild and crazy day here ladies and gents. I have got my dd off to school and while I was trying to complete my morning routine of catching up on my blogs I realized...I don't have time for that! I have to get down to the city today to fill out my registration for dental assisting, my trainee paperwork for my new job, and have a drug test. Before I leave I need to finish cleaning up the kitchen, get my dd's dance bag packed and ready to go on the table (in case grandma has to take her), take a shower, and pick up the living room. And in order to do all of that, I need to get a move on.
But I still decided I could take a few minutes and blog. Why? Because I have something on my mind.
As I read these blogs, the few that I got in today and the others that I've read regularly, I have been asked one question. Why is it that we think that we have to be superwoman?
We want to be stellar employees (if we work outside the home), excellent wives, over achieving mothers, above reproach as a housewife, there for our friends, and, more and more, be able to reach out across the cyber universe to make friends that we may never meet face to face but offer them the same hope and encouragement that we do our face time friends. Why? Because we are women, hear us roar. So many of those can be narrowed into three catagories.
1. Setting high, but achievable, goals for ourselves inside and outside the home. To quote the army national guard, we want to be all that we can be.
2. We want our family to be happy, healthy and well cared for. This means so much more than does my child have the latest toy fad. In fact, sometimes it means NOT getting your child that latest toy fad. Now I'll admit my daughter has a zhu zhu pet. But she has 1. No accessories. A single zhu zhu pet. She also has silly bands (they're cheap enough and she wears them), a leapster 2 and a vreader (both bought by her godfather with limited amount of game time from me). But she has also learned that her crayons and some blank paper is a great way to spend her time. In fact she spends a lot of her time using that creative outlet.
3. We want to be the friend we want to have. Who wants a friend that, when you need her, she is NEVER available. That's not who I want. And that's not who I want to be. I was raised by the golden rule, and so I treat others how I want to be treated, even if that means taking 10 minutes out of my day to listen to a friend rant about how she is driving 90 minutes one way to pick up a duck (her son had a pet duck who died inexplicably) and how much easier it would be if her husband wasn't working 2nd shift. Or taking 20 minutes out of my day to help a friend look for some job listings because she is getting worried about not finding a job. Could I spend that time cleaning, organizing, cooking, baking, or playing with my child? Yes. BUT when it's me looking for someone to listen when my mom shoots yet another idea of mine out of the water for my wedding or about the dog that won't stay in the yard, will they be there for me? Pretty sure they wouldn't be for long if I wasn't there for thme.
The biggest part of all of this is being realistic. I have a friend who has 3 small children, ages 5, 3, and 2. She is potty training the youngest. The oldest is in Kindergarten, the middle started a 3 year old preschool program. The two older ones are in dance. She knits. She tries to keep her house running without any high fructose corn syrup. She sews. She wants her house to stay neat and clean. She wants to raise moral, kind children. But she knows that sometimes some of these have to be allowed to slide. She may have to buy bread through the summer when she is busy in the garden. She may have to buy prepared foods when she is sick. She may have to focus more on the knitting and sewing around Christmas and then take a break to get her house back in order. She is realistic in the fact that she knows she can't do it all all of the time. Life happens.
So when I get asked why do we think we have to be superwoman it's easy. Because inside every woman is a superhero. Why not make the most of that potential.
But I still decided I could take a few minutes and blog. Why? Because I have something on my mind.
As I read these blogs, the few that I got in today and the others that I've read regularly, I have been asked one question. Why is it that we think that we have to be superwoman?
We want to be stellar employees (if we work outside the home), excellent wives, over achieving mothers, above reproach as a housewife, there for our friends, and, more and more, be able to reach out across the cyber universe to make friends that we may never meet face to face but offer them the same hope and encouragement that we do our face time friends. Why? Because we are women, hear us roar. So many of those can be narrowed into three catagories.
1. Setting high, but achievable, goals for ourselves inside and outside the home. To quote the army national guard, we want to be all that we can be.
2. We want our family to be happy, healthy and well cared for. This means so much more than does my child have the latest toy fad. In fact, sometimes it means NOT getting your child that latest toy fad. Now I'll admit my daughter has a zhu zhu pet. But she has 1. No accessories. A single zhu zhu pet. She also has silly bands (they're cheap enough and she wears them), a leapster 2 and a vreader (both bought by her godfather with limited amount of game time from me). But she has also learned that her crayons and some blank paper is a great way to spend her time. In fact she spends a lot of her time using that creative outlet.
3. We want to be the friend we want to have. Who wants a friend that, when you need her, she is NEVER available. That's not who I want. And that's not who I want to be. I was raised by the golden rule, and so I treat others how I want to be treated, even if that means taking 10 minutes out of my day to listen to a friend rant about how she is driving 90 minutes one way to pick up a duck (her son had a pet duck who died inexplicably) and how much easier it would be if her husband wasn't working 2nd shift. Or taking 20 minutes out of my day to help a friend look for some job listings because she is getting worried about not finding a job. Could I spend that time cleaning, organizing, cooking, baking, or playing with my child? Yes. BUT when it's me looking for someone to listen when my mom shoots yet another idea of mine out of the water for my wedding or about the dog that won't stay in the yard, will they be there for me? Pretty sure they wouldn't be for long if I wasn't there for thme.
The biggest part of all of this is being realistic. I have a friend who has 3 small children, ages 5, 3, and 2. She is potty training the youngest. The oldest is in Kindergarten, the middle started a 3 year old preschool program. The two older ones are in dance. She knits. She tries to keep her house running without any high fructose corn syrup. She sews. She wants her house to stay neat and clean. She wants to raise moral, kind children. But she knows that sometimes some of these have to be allowed to slide. She may have to buy bread through the summer when she is busy in the garden. She may have to buy prepared foods when she is sick. She may have to focus more on the knitting and sewing around Christmas and then take a break to get her house back in order. She is realistic in the fact that she knows she can't do it all all of the time. Life happens.
So when I get asked why do we think we have to be superwoman it's easy. Because inside every woman is a superhero. Why not make the most of that potential.
Monday, January 3, 2011
Manic Monday
Have you ever ran around in so many circles you no longer know if you are coming or going? Me too. Today is one of those days.
Here is my to-do list for today
1. Clean the bedroom (my dd and I share a room. Makes it very easy for it to become overfilled, cluttered and messy)
2. Keep working on laundry. My goal is to have all the laundry completely caught up by this weekend. Funny how fast it adds up when you don't look at it for a few weeks.
3. Organize and clean living room
This sounds like not a lot. However I will feel very accomplished if I can just get the bedroom done. Of course taking the time to sit down and blog isn't going to help is it?
I have 3 hours until I have to go pick up my dd from school. In this time I'd like to finish my bedroom (and of course keep the laundry flowing). Then she and I can work on the living room together.
On the chore chart, she is doing great. She got hot in the middle of the night and decided her night gown had to come off. How this night gown was too warm I'm not sure, it's a light weight flannel but she always has been my little heater. This morning when I woke her up and had her get dressed she got dressed, went into the bedroom, got her nightgown that she had thrown off in the middle of the night and put it in the dirty clothes. I didn't have to remind her at all.
I also would like to box up books this week to take to the local used book store. I have more than I could read in a year and most of them have been read and aren't ones I'll reread. So rather than allowing them to continue to take up space (and have to move them here in a few months) I will either trade them in or take them and donate them to a local charity that takes clothes, books, etc to the Appalacian Mountain community. Either way it is better than taking up space in my house.
Well I suppose I should go back and keep chugging away. If I can get it clean today, maybe Wednesday I can get it organized and functional. Tomorrow is my running day. I have to run down to the school I just graduated from, print off some paperwork, take it to the place I'm applying for a job, then go help my Grandpa get things ready for the new carpet he's getting, go to the grocery store, and then hopefully come home. I will spend the majority of the day in the car, and have to be back in town in time to pick up my dd.
But I think I should take my gpa out to lunch. Another simple joy.
Here is my to-do list for today
1. Clean the bedroom (my dd and I share a room. Makes it very easy for it to become overfilled, cluttered and messy)
2. Keep working on laundry. My goal is to have all the laundry completely caught up by this weekend. Funny how fast it adds up when you don't look at it for a few weeks.
3. Organize and clean living room
This sounds like not a lot. However I will feel very accomplished if I can just get the bedroom done. Of course taking the time to sit down and blog isn't going to help is it?
I have 3 hours until I have to go pick up my dd from school. In this time I'd like to finish my bedroom (and of course keep the laundry flowing). Then she and I can work on the living room together.
On the chore chart, she is doing great. She got hot in the middle of the night and decided her night gown had to come off. How this night gown was too warm I'm not sure, it's a light weight flannel but she always has been my little heater. This morning when I woke her up and had her get dressed she got dressed, went into the bedroom, got her nightgown that she had thrown off in the middle of the night and put it in the dirty clothes. I didn't have to remind her at all.
I also would like to box up books this week to take to the local used book store. I have more than I could read in a year and most of them have been read and aren't ones I'll reread. So rather than allowing them to continue to take up space (and have to move them here in a few months) I will either trade them in or take them and donate them to a local charity that takes clothes, books, etc to the Appalacian Mountain community. Either way it is better than taking up space in my house.
Well I suppose I should go back and keep chugging away. If I can get it clean today, maybe Wednesday I can get it organized and functional. Tomorrow is my running day. I have to run down to the school I just graduated from, print off some paperwork, take it to the place I'm applying for a job, then go help my Grandpa get things ready for the new carpet he's getting, go to the grocery store, and then hopefully come home. I will spend the majority of the day in the car, and have to be back in town in time to pick up my dd.
But I think I should take my gpa out to lunch. Another simple joy.
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