Godsend

Let me go on the record and say it. My in-laws are a Godsend. Completely and totally.

They totally saved me this weekend.

I am sick. With what, I'm not sure, but I'm sick.  I am congested, have a runny nose, am sneezing, and am coughing. A lot. And it hurts. (I'm guessing bronchitis and a sinus infection, but haven't gotten that confirmed).

But my ailments didn't stop the weekend from coming.

For some, the weekend might be a good thing.  For me, for this particular weekend, it wasn't a nice and relaxing weekend.  Matt was at an event I place a high priority on him attending - a men's retreat with our Sunday school guys. Tatum had her first soccer game scheduled. It was Parents Weekend in Aggieland and consequently, I had a work luncheon, and Kellen had his opening ceremonies for Little League.

It was gearing up to be a FULL weekend.  Even more so than usual for us.

Matt was going to come back and forth so he wouldn't miss Tatum's first soccer game, but the recent rain caused the opening weekend games to be canceled.  She was devastated.  Mommy and daddy were less than devastated.

Maw Maw and Paw Paw managed to make it over so that I could get to my luncheon, and played with the kids and did spring-time activities all day so that even when I got home, I was able to take a much-needed nap.  I say much-needed because unfortunately by that point in time, I had also managed to acquire a migraine on top of everything else.

After my nap was over, my migraine had, despite my 'good' medicine, taken full root.  So we took the kids to the new Chick-fil-A to get a quick dinner and some caffeine in me to help kick the meds in even more (one can dream) before the opening ceremonies.

While we were there, we realized that Jacey really likes ice cream.  Even asked for it after she saw the other two kids turn in their kids meal treat for it.

With me not being completely (or at all) on my game, we managed to leave the house without her lovey or a sippy cup.  These were not good things for us to be without.

We managed.  And the caffeine helped the medicine to kick in some and I was able to tolerate the opening ceremonies.

I liked the way they did them this year....we were able to actually see the teams since they came around the front of the stadium. 

And afterwards, Maw Maw and Paw Paw assisted with the bedtime routine put the kids to bed so that I didn't have to do it all myself.

Godsend.

I would not have made it through the weekend without them.  Well, I might have, but I wouldn't have included such fond memories as ice cream pictures and sweet boys enjoying their opening ceremonies. 

Absolute Godsend.

March Running Review

15 - 3 miles, 47:15 min (first walk/jog since hurting my back/shoulder doing who knows what and getting back into the chiropractor with Jacey in a non jogging stroller for some of the laps)
16 - 3.2 miles, 58:57 min (walk/jog with Jacey in a non jogging stroller for some of the laps)
25 - 2.1 miles, 19:39 min (8:33 mile; 10:06 mile)
26 - 2.1 miles, 19:31 min (9:15 mile; 9:13 mile)
27 - 2 miles, 20:47 min (10:16 mile; 10:13 mile)

March mileage total = 12.4 miles (0.4 miles/day)
Yearly mileage total = 52.9 miles (0.58 miles/day)

Ug. March was not a good month overall. My back has been giving me fits and I have seen quite a bit of my chiropractor this month....self-care has been more of a theme this month than consistent running. So I guess I'll take that.

When I *did* run, I was amazed to see that I am actually running faster than ever. I don't seem to be able to keep the pace up for very long, but my mile paces are amazing (to me, anyway). So I will continue to celebrate the small victory of speed, while lamenting the continued need for continuity and consistency. But I'm working on it.

And I will say that I'm craving my runs. I want to be out there running.  Period.  I can't say that has always been the case...and I have been frustrated on the days that I have really wanted (even woke up to my alarm!) to get up and run but have been stopped by the rain (that we need!).  So my motivation and drive are there, I just need to allow my body to heal and recover so I can work on the consistency aspect.

2012 Recap:
January total = 31.24 (31 days) [MET GOAL]
February total = 9.26 (29 days)
March total = 12.4 (31 days)

Clutter control (March 25 - 31)

25 - We reorganized the clothes in Kellen's room and got rid of a few items in there (outgrown sleep outfits that he's held on to for way too long), t-shirts he's outgrown, etc) - 12
30 - After Jacey wore one of her pair of jeans-turned-into-almost-capris, I realized they were, in fact, too short for her. *sigh* - 1
31 - Hubby had warned me that the toaster was broken, but we hadn't gotten around to throwing it away. It is now in the trash (shhh...I did it before he got home and I wonder how long it will take before he notices). - 1

Weekly total - 14 items
March total - 67 items

Is that comfortable?

After transitioning Jacey to a 'big girl' bed this past weekend, we weren't all too surprised to see this when we went into the girls room this morning.

Hopefully it won't take too terribly long before her transition is complete...and she makes it all night in HER bed.

Clutter control (March 18 - 24)

20 - 1 shirt that we realized Jacey has outgrown (I could have sworn I just went through that girls clothes!!)
21 - 3 items (including a random, non-insulated drink container that sweats horribly that I've had sitting on the kitchen counter for some unknown number of weeks....have I just been oblivious to this??? cleaning around it???  who knows, but it's gone now.)
24 - 2 pairs of shoes (1 each from Kellen & Jacey)

Weekly total = 6 items
March total = 53 items

Not my smartest Mommy moment

Last night I hosted my Meal Swap I mentioned earlier this week.  In preparation for this, I got the house picked up, had Tatum help me prep brownies, and while my pizza pasta was cooking, I gave the girls a bath.

You know, to get a jump start on bedtimes.

I never thought that dinner would result in something that looked like this.

And Jacey got not one, but TWO baths last night. (After she ate THREE bowls of this pasta...and Mommy did an extra HAPPY DANCE for her eating!!)

So much for my attempt at being organized and efficient.  I would call that a big fat Mommy fail.  Or....perhaps if I spin it another way, we just practiced her sensory input as it related to baths and bathing.

Yeah...I can spin that.

Perspective when your kiddos are strong-willed

I have spoken a lot about my strong willed children. Those children who just so happen to come from two strong willed parents.

They never stood a chance.

I have to remind myself that their strong wills will come in handy some day when they are faced with peer pressure and all sorts of other 'things' and I hope and pray that the messages they are learning now will stick.

So it was refreshing to read this devotional about that very same thing.  I absolutely love the mothering perspectives she lists...

1. Don't take too much credit for their good.
2. Don't take too much credit for their bad.
3. Don't try to raise a good child. Raise a God-following adult.

Oh thank you Lord for that sweet reminder! It's not my purpose in life to raise 'good' kids...it's my purpose in life to raise kids who know and love the Lord.

Batch cooking

I'm hosting a meal swap for some of my fabulous co-workers this week, so in preparation for that event, I did some batch cooking last night.

Pizza pasta is my 'go-to' dish for meal swaps. It just is. It's easy to make, most people love it, and I always end up making extra because my family seems to love it (especially Jacey, which is a real treat).

I got the ingredients (buying in bulk for a recipe is way easier than getting a bunch of different ingredients for different recipes!)

Then turn all of those things into a LOAD of food!!

Boil the pasta and separate it into the lasagna pans.

While the water for the pasta is boiling and the pasta is cooking, brown the meat and heat the sauce.  Then mix the meat and sauce with the pasta in the pan (I use 1 lb of hamburger meat and 1 can of spaghetti sauce per pan, along with 1 bag of tri-colored twirly pasta or 1 12 oz box of pasta).  Then layer with approximately 2 cups of mozarella cheese.

Take your pepperoni and layer over the shredded cheese for the final topping.

If you have an assembly line going while you're making quite a few of these, it can look something like this on your table.....

And you end up with something that looks like this....

I made seven of these last night while we simultaneously made dinner to eat, the kids ate, my hubby ate, then I took a quick break to bathe and put to bed the littlest.  And I was completely finished (as in wrapped with saran swap and aluminum foil, labeled and in the freezer) by 9 PM or so. I started with all of this at about 6:30....so not too bad!!

I kept one out for us to eat later this week and also browned some of the 'extra' hamburger meat that I had bought as a started for another dinner for this week.  When you actually cook it, do so on 350 for 25-35 minutes, or until all of your cheese is melted (I leave on the foil until the last 10 or so minutes).

I felt very productive. *grin* The added bonus is that my dear sweet hubby cleaned up the kitchen afterwards. Love that man!!

Spring break preview.....

Yes...our spring break was that much fun....more to come.

Clutter control (March 11-17)

12 - T-shirt purge (got rid of 3 shirts...1 just moved from the 'wear' pile to the 'sleep shirt' pile)
13 - Random clean-up around the house -4

Considering it was spring break, one might have thought I would have been slightly more productive...It seemed as though I was, but apparently it was in purging items from my home. I did trash-to-treasure things like turning lonely socks into bunnies for Easter instead.

Weekly total = 7 items
Monthly total = 47 items

Easter bunny...Craft time!

So I stumbled across this post where a tutorial is shown about making Easter bunnies from lonely socks. (The tutorial is fabulous...If I can make it from the tutorial, you know you're in good shape. Elsie Marley's bunny also looks way better than mine. That being said, I'll include some rudimentary instructions below with my pictures as well).

As I have already mentioned, I just purged socks and have more lonely socks that I know what to do with around here right now.

This is what the basket of lonely socks looks like...normally it is sitting on top of my dryer, waiting to try and find their partners as loads (and loads, and loads, and loads) of laundry come out of the dryer and get folded and put away (hahaha...so funny...like that happens immediately...but I digress). I took it and since I was home yesterday with both girls, I decided to make the 'pin' a reality.

Tatum picked out her color for her bunny, and while the girls were eating dinner and watching a movie, I tried to get all crafty.

Here goes:

Put your stuffing in the bottom of the sock, which will end up being the body of the bunny. I realized when I was finished that I probably didn't use enough stuffing...but you don't want to use too much...so just take your best guess. Slip stitch around where you want the body to end and draw it tight.

Around the toe of your body (what will be the tail) do another slip stitch in a circular pattern, and tie it off...this will be the tail.

Stuff the head (which is really the heel area of the sock) and perform the same slip stitch technique you have no doubt mastered by now (hopefully better than I seem to have done).

Then take the top of the sock and cut a V into it (you'll have just made the sections for the two ears). Then cut those 'ears' so that they have a point in the middle (so each ear is another V). Fold the edges of each ear in toward the center and stitch them.

Tatum decided that her bunny needed eyes, so I played with the thread and added eyes to her bunny. I also added a few quick stitches in various places to hold it together in something that resembled the shape of a bunny (and realized again that I didn't stuff the body with enough stuffing).

But there you have it!  A purple bunny...

I think it's time for another t-shirt purge...

3/13 Update: after doing some additional laundry, I came across a few more t-shirts...so I've adjusted the numbers accordingly below.

Remember my old post about purging t-shirts to a more manageable number?  Well, I think it's time again.

My t-shirt count is 21 23 shirts (at least that are currently clean, folded and in my drawer - and I'm pretty caught up on my laundry as of *right.now*), and this is true t-shirts, not the girl-cut t-shirts (I know, I know...I actually differentiate between the two).

They actually (mostly) fit when they're all clean and folded in my drawer, but still....how many t-shirts do I need? I wear them on the weekends and occasionally on a Friday to work...occasionally.

In going through them, it's obvious I end up still wearing the same ones over and over again....maybe it's the way they feel?  Maybe the way I feel like I look in them?

I honestly have no idea. But I'm thinking it's too many t-shirts. Especially when I'm not wearing them all.

So, there seems to be some that I have a twinge about getting rid of....race shirts, etc.  Apparently I need to make some sort of keepsake item with those (a shadow box for my race shirts and medals? suggestions from other runners would be greatly appreciated!!). Others I will officially move to the 'sleep shirt' ranks. Yeah, they're that bad. Still others I'll move to the 'craft' pile for wreaths and possibly some flip flops for the girls and I.

So, the end count is....17 19 t-shirts.

When a door closes....

I frequently ask the Lord to give me direction not in the form of quiet whispers, but in flashing billboards and signs.

I don't do well with subtle. The Lord made me. He knows this. It's not a shocker to Him.

But I ask anyway, because I know myself. Typically He answers that particular prayers and gives my flashing billboards and large signs.

I appreciate this very much.

Last fall, I applied for a PhD program in the College of Education and Human Development, within the Department of Educational Administration & Human Resource Development here at Texas A&M University. The program itself was human resource development. It would have taken me a while, as my plan was to take a class, possibly two, at a time.

I have been talking about applying for my PhD for...oh...about 11 years now. Yup. Since I finished my Masters. But a little thing called the real world managed to get in the way. You know...the first 'real' job, a couple-three-kids, just life in general. And despite the fact that I'm surrounded by people continuing their education (with my advice and assistance) and by professors, I hadn't taken the plunge.

Until last fall. My co-worker was applying for the very same program, and that was the motivation I needed. Matt and I prayed about it, and we decided that things seemed like they were lining up for me to apply for the program. If God didn't want me in the program at that time, I simply wouldn't get accepted.

The individuals I asked to write my letters of recommendation were thrilled to do so, one of them even submitted the recommendation letter before I had a chance to submit the application or any supporting materials. All three of these professors felt incredibly confident that I would be admitted, and to tell you the truth, so did I. And so did my co-worker. And so did most of the other people that I told I was applying.

The decision was supposed to be made (I thought) by the end of February. The end of February came and went and I didn't hear anything. I did; however, get a text from another friend who had applied to the same program the evening of March 1st. She basically told me to check my email. I had been busy that afternoon in meetings and hadn't had a chance to check it.  So I did.


But God said, "No." Or at least, "Not right now."
 
I didn't get accepted into the program.

I certainly won't lie and say that I'm not disappointed, because I am. But I'm trusting that this is God's very large, flashing billboard directing me away from this path at this particular moment.  Those who I have informed of this have been shocked for me, which I appreciate. But I'm trusting that this was/is God's will for me right now. Perhaps He is saving me from myself, since I do have a tendency to take on more than I need to at any given time.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not unto your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your path. - Proverbs 3:5-6

Clutter control (March 1 - 10)

So this post will cover about a week and a half for the month of March...

Saturday the 10th was a fairly relaxing day...the weather was drizzly, and we had NOTHING on the agenda.  Let me repeat that.

We had nothing on the agenda.  [It's so rare it was worth repeating]

So I decided to pull Tatum's shorts, skirts, pants, capris and dresses out and she did a fashion show.  It was really just a fun way for her to try on all of these things so I could see what needed to come OUT of her section of the closet and go into storage for Jacey or get purged because it was a little too loved. Then later on in the day we did her tops.

I then pulled ALL of the socks out from Jacey and Tatum and we played the match game.  I am sick and tired of having mismatched socks....so am bound and determined to put an end to that. I went through the clean socks, matched them up, and them put the mismatched ones on the dryer so as I finish laundry, I can continue making sets.  Once that's finished, I'm know which of them truly are lonely. Of course, of the socks that are matched, it seems that over half of them are too small for Jacey's seemingly huge feet.  So out they went.

We matched socks, and now have a pile of socks currently mismatched.  After I get through doing laundry..(and figure out which ones are truly lonely, like I mentioned)...we might make some puppets (that Tatum has been asking to make) out of the lonely socks.

After all of the clothes purging (with just a bit more to go, I might add...but Jacey is in no mood to try on her shirts or dresses)....Matt decided to clean out the garage. And the purge total climbed. We started a 'mission box' and went to town.

And in our random purging, I ran across a pair of shoes that Jacey has outgrown that I really haven't wanted to admit she's outgrown.  And I put them in the bag to donate to our friends.  I showed them to Matt as I was doing it and we both got our sad faces on for a few minutes and were saddened that she was outgrowing those shoes.  Maybe we can find them in a bigger size and pretend she really isn't growing up after all.

Weekly total = ~40 items
March total = 40 items

March goals....

In looking at this month...and considering that I'm feeling like God's current instruction and discipline includes asking telling me to slow down and begin to take better care of myself, I think I'll concentrate on the following:

1. Continue my running goal (average 1 mile/day) [nevermind that I haven't run at all this month because of said back]
2. Continue with February's purge goal
3. Continue with date nights with Matt (once a month minimum)
4. New this month....SELF CARE!

I'm off to a late start this month with solidifying this goals...but here we go.

Blue Man Group!

Grandma Gerren and I had discussed, a l-o-n-g time ago, back when the OPAS schedule first came out for the season, about the fact that the Blue Man Group was coming to town the weekend of Tatum's birthday. We both thought that she might really enjoy the Blue Man Group.

So a week and a half before her birthday, when we discussed this again, I realized I hadn't thought much about it since then. And in seemingly normal fashion, Grandma Gerren and I chatted, and she made it work.

She managed to get some pretty good seats for 'the girls' to attend the Blue Man Group for the Sunday afternoon showing. 

I didn't do a very good job of explaining the Blue Man Group to Tatum, nor did I explain the theatre itself, so it's no wonder she got a little scared.  For the record, she DID enjoy it. It has just taken her a little while to process through what she saw to realize that.

She's been talking about it ever since....Mommy how did those blue men do ____________?, Mommy, were those men really blue? Are they blue all over? Mommy, during that one part, how did they ______?

I love that we were able to take her, I just wish I would have done a little more research on what to expect from their show so I could have better prepared her. But I loved it!

Tatum's very first sleepover....

We didn't finish Tatum's party and call it a night. Oh no. We decided that on her most special of days, she could invite a friend to spend the night.

So her sweet friend E came to spend the night after the party.

I suddenly developed an accent, and the girls turned into princesses. And then they were different princesses. They had a spa (read: bubble bath), ate dinner, got their toes and fingers painted while watching a movie (that they BOTH agreed to!!), then ate a dessert of yummy warm cookies (because they hadn't eaten enough sugary goodness at the actual birthday party).

And by that point in time, it was then very late and they went to bed....we didn't even get a chance to do any of the various crafts I thought we might...and had set aside in case.

Jacey had been moved for the night to mommy and daddy's room (and wasn't sleeping, but that's another story). Kellen had been moved to mommy and daddy's room so that the Grand Queen (grandma) could use his bed for the night.

So everyone had their place, and Tatum gave her bed to E and I set up a pallet on the floor next to the bed and put them to sleep...after E called her mommy and told her 'Good night'.

Daddy and I switched care for the girls and I took over for Jacey and he continued to check on the 'big girls'. They got scared once or twice, but nothing that turning on the lamp rather than just the nightlight couldn't cure.

On Sunday morning, Daddy made a big batch of his morning mess (scrambled eggs, breakfast sausage and hashbrowns) and everyone had some of that, then Mommy got up and made cinnamon rolls. And the girls ate those - two rolls each. Then we got dressed for church, put on our glittery spray, lip gloss, and off we went.

We met up with E's mommy and daddy by the nursery counter so they could see her before Sunday school.  They had a BLAST. A complete and total BLAST. Tatum was upset that it wasn't a two-night sleepover.

Happy birthday, Tatum!!

I can't believe you're 5!!

You decided that you wanted a butterfly-themed party (which shocked your Mommy and Daddy to no end...we just KNEW you would want a princess party), but you made up your mind. You and I sat and pored over pinterest ideas for cupcake decorations and party activities...you were so thoughtful and excited about this day!!

We decided to have the party in the backyard, and do some butterfly-related crafts, complete with a butterfly cupcake cake, additional cupcakes decorated with butterflies, and just play. But as the day drew closer, the ramifications of the enormous amount of rain we had in February sunk in....and the yard wasn't drying out. Although we didn't get the rain we thought we might in the week leading up to your birthday and party, the yard still wasn't dry enough for all your friends to play and have fun in the backyard, so we explored other options.

Your daddy was fabulous...he made all kinds of phone calls to find out what we needed to do to have your party at the park right down from our house. And he also prompted Mommy to look into a bouncy house for you...and he was so right. He made calls to all sorts of people about that bouncy house to make sure we could have it up at that park for you and your friends.

The morning of your big day, you enjoyed tremendously....you relaxed, and helped get things finalized for the party. You even took a short nap before the party so you would be ready to play to your hearts content.

And outside of the intense wind, it was a beautiful day for a party at the park. We had our treats.....

And you and your friends bounced and bounced (and each of the Hapes kiddos managed to get a bang or bruise of some sort from the bouncy house).

And we did enjoy the crafts....despite the wind...the kids made and decorated butterfly and bee masks, then did some of the scratch art butterflies. We never made it to the candy necklace station, but that was ok.

Everyone sang Happy Birthday to you, then enjoyed butterfly cake and ice cream. We didn't even bother with trying to light birthday candles...it would have been completely futile in that wind.

You didn't seem to mind at all.

We decided to open presents once we got home so we could leave more time for you and your friends to play in the bounce house. You were such a sweet birthday girl and made sure to talk with all of your friends and show them how glad you were that they came to your party. I was so proud of you!

Things you like:

• All things pink
• Princesses
• Littlest pet shop
• Playing dress up
• Fishing with your daddy
• Helping mommy bake/cook
• Having your toes/fingernails painted
• Riding your bike
• Barbies
• Zhu-zhu pets
• Your build-a-bear stuffed animals (thank you, Aunt Boo!)
• Reading, sounding out words for spelling, doing math
• Coloring/drawing/painting

Sports you like:

• Last fall you tried Upward Cheer (cheering for football) and you really enjoyed it (but we couldn't make you understand why you weren't scheduled to cheer for Kellen's team)
• You're about to play soccer...with practices starting later this month
• Virtually all things Aggie (your normal comment to me is, "We want the Aggies to win, right?"

A look back....

You are so beautiful and so sweet and so loving and I am so proud to have you as my daughter. You make my heart melt in so many ways....Happy 5th Birthday, Tatum!!

February Running Review

1 - 4.4 miles (split into 3 different walks with Jacey in the stroller; 1 to walk Kellen to school, another long walk during the day, and the 3rd to pick Kellen up from school + a half mile)
2 - .8 miles (walked Jacey in the stroller to take Kellen to school)
21 - 2 miles  - 22 min total (1 mile - 8:40)
22 - 1.03 miles (1 mile - 8:56)
23 - 1.03 miles (1 mile - 8:33)

February total = 9.26 miles
February miles/day = 0.32 miles/day

It wasn't a great month for running (hello, captain obvious). But it also rained for at least 12 of the 29 days of the month.  So...given my incredibly small window of running opportunity...well, let's just say that the weather made it a little more difficult to get the mileage in. 

However, I will just give myself a little credit on my speed.  Sub 10 minute miles??  Really??  Then to top that off and pull sub 9 minute miles???

What the heck???

I have no idea what's going on, and obviously I didn't keep up the pace for any considerable distance.  But.

I did it.

Perhaps the greater speed is the stress relief I needed after a months worth of a particular sick child?

2012 Recap:
January total = 31.24 (31 days) [MET GOAL]
February total = 9.26 (29 days)

Clutter Control (Week of Feb 26-29)

Here is the recap of the home stretch of the February goal of clutter control.  I was getting ready this week to host Tatum's birthday party (scheduled for at the house...yikes!!), so was gearing up to be a REALLY good excuse to go some last minute purging and cleaning up, right??

Right.

Well...it didn't really work out that way.

My back ended up going out and then Jacey ended up getting an eye infection....so the house ended up getting a quick spruce...but not the deep purge that I wanted right before her party....and then we moved the party to the park anyway, but that's a different story.

But this is life...and I live in the real world.  And I do the best that I can.  And I'm trying to do better about not beating myself up about things.

My goals are lofty...and I'll try to reach them...really I will.  But if I don't....I still tried, and it's the effort along the way that's really important.

Because all told, I ended up purging over 200 items from the house in the month of February (granted, lots of it was candy....but still - I got it out of the house!).

That's over 200 things that my house didn't need anymore.

Even though I wasn't as consistent about it as I wanted to be or had intended to be, that total is WAY better than averaging 5 items a week for the month, huh? *grin*

Total Weekly Count = zilch, zip, nada, goose egg
Total February Count =228

February recap of this project
Week 1, Feb 1-4
Week 2, Feb 5-11
Week 3, Feb 12-18
Week 4, Feb 19-25

Clutter Control (Week of Feb 19-25)

We're drawing near the end of the Clutter control month here....and I haven't maintained consistency like I had originally hoped.  My purges are coming in spurts.

I already mentioned and Kellen and Daddy did a great job of cleaning Kellen's room....and in doing so, they came across a cute outfit that Kellen had outgrown...It was his Easter suit, complete with tie. So on Sunday, we took it to church and passed it on to another couple whose kiddos can use it for their boys. (We'll count that as one item.)

Sunday was also the donation day for the Princess Project, so three dresses that had been bridesmaids dresses in their former life were donated to this project. Hopefully in this phase of the dresses life, they'll be utilized by a high school girl so that she can wear a dress to her prom. I was still able to wear them, but every time I tried to, Matt simply saw them as bridesmaid dresses and couldn't get past that mental mindset.

So off they went.  Better to be used and worn again than for me to wonder, 'What if I could wear it to.....'

Then on Saturday, I went through ALL of the shorts, skirts and pants in Jacey's drawer to see what fit/didn't fit her.  And I ended up purging some items from that drawer. (The girl is just a skinny-minny and some of things she inherited from her sister were for a completely different body type....'nuff said, right?) That totaled 18 items plus one pair of shoes she's managed to outgrow.


Total weekly count =23
Total February count = 228

Clutter control (week of Feb 12-18)

Continuing on with February's clutter control theme.....I will say that this week was a little better (from my perspective at least).

A group that I work with was having a yard sale on Saturday, so we were able to donate our old BBQ grill for them to sell, and I played 'middle man' for another friend as she went through a her boys toys in her own purge mode (her toys don't play into my count)....Another friend had given me two large garbage bags full of clothes for Jacey not too long ago, so I (finally) went through those, pulled out the stuff I wanted to keep for her, and donated the rest for this particular sale.  I have NO IDEA how many items were left in that bag, and they weren't in my posession all that long, but still....let's just say ~75 items left the house in those bags.

I actually had to work an event on Saturday, but when I got home, I discovered that Kellen and Daddy were deep cleaning Kellen's room.  Deep cleaning.  As in, there was an ENTIRE garbage bag of STUFF ready to be dumped out.  Trash, broken toys, papers, wrappers, and I even think there was a banana peel.  Don't ask.  I didn't begin to even count, but let's say that was an easy 50 items.

Total weekly count - 126 items
Total count for February = 205 items

February Date Night...weekend?

Moving on in our years worth of date nights....our February date night was really more of a weekend.  You see, I signed Matt and I up for the Love and Respect Marriage Conference. If you're interested, you can read more about the Love and Respect Ministry here.

What I didn't realize when I signed us up was that the conference was really a video conference and that we would be watching the conference on a screen. Oops.

But bless Matt...bless him a thousand times...he didn't complain at all.  Just asked if I had realized that and when I said no, I must have had a horrible sheepish look on my face, but he said not a word.

And I believe we both enjoyed the conference quite a bit. We learned more about ourselves and each other (if I may speak just a little for him there...)

It was a WONDERFUL conference and I highly recommend it.  EVEN if you have to watch it on a screen.

And the kids had a wonderful time with Maw Maw and Paw Paw (thank you!!) while we were at the conference. The timing was perfect and we made it back just in time for Kellen's basketball game.

Clutter Control (Week of Feb 5-11)

To continue with my February goal of clutter bustin', I took some additional items to Kellen's Kids Klub (newspapers...no real count on those...we'll say a weeks worth).

I also re-purposed some existing candy into Valentine's Day treats for each of the kids to give away for next week at their respective parties (the candies will be out of the house, so that counts, right?? ;) ) [See posts here and here for Valentine's Day ideas]

It wasn't the best of weeks for managing our clutter.....

If I count the individual candies, then we're at 63 items....add in a few days of newspaper and we're at 70 items for the week. (I just realized HOW MUCH CANDY THAT IS!!!)

Total count for February is 79 items.

SUPER Valentine

In my continued attempt (while home with a sick wee one) to not go crazy come up with cheap cute Valentine's Day ideas for the kids, I came across this idea both on Pinterest and also in my Family Fun magazine.

Sidenote: it's AMAZING what happens when you actually read the appropriate magazine in the appropriate month, huh?  See my Clutter Bustin' post for catching up on that particular problem in my house.

I scoured the house to see how many suckers we had....you know...to see if we had enough for a class set.  Luckily for me, we had that and more.  (Apparently I can no longer say, 'We don't really keep candy around the house....')

Then you make the cape and make templates and begin the cut out phase (after deciding on your caped crusaders color scheme, of course).

With carefully placed folds, you only need 2 sheets of construction paper for 24 capes.  And you need only 1 piece on construction paper for the masks.  Yup...very minimal supplies for this oh-so-cute project!

Then you get to cuttin'!

Decide on your SUPER saying.....

Then you make the eye portion of your masks (no quick way that I could think of on this one other than drawing in the eyes on each one of the masks).

With all of your materials compiled, you begin the 'construction' phase.  Get a hole punch (and in the absence of a single hole punch, one of the holes from a three hole punch works just fine).

And here you go!!

Clutter Control (Week of Feb 1-4)

Remember my February goal for clutter bustin'? 

Well....here are pictures of (some) of my first attempts to purge unwanted and unnecessary things out of the house. 

There was another one or two that didn't get captured in photograph form, but you get the point.  Luckily for me, Kellen's Kids Klub wants and uses magazines, newspapers, old toilet paper and paper towel rolls, etc., so some things can be reused rather than thrown away (yay for going green!)

My 'official' count was 9 items.

What have you managed to purge this week?

Valentine Sweetie

In trying to figure out what the kids were going to take for their Valentine's this year (you know, instead of my normal, last minute, Dollar Store cards), I have been pinning numerous cute items on Pinterest.

Apparently it got my creative juices flowing.

I came across some SweeTarts that we had at the house, and luckily for me, we had just enough for a class set for Jacey.

So, I designed a card, printed it out on regular printer paper (if you wanted to get fancier, you could always use card stock).

I glued the card to construction paper, then simply added the SweeTart with some tape in the space I had designed.

Easy as that and oh-so-cute (if I do say so myself).  And here is the whole stack of them, ready to go (in advance, I might add...go me - for once).

And I think it took me less time than signing names, folding, and sticking red hearts onto the Dollar Store valentines....and the best part....this project cost me nothing out of pocket...everything to do this was already in the house.

Whoop!

What do YOU do with Christmas cards after Christmas?

I have wondered this for years.

And for many years I have wanted to make a book of them, so that we could remember who sent us cards the previous year pray for the families during the year.

After making my hubby crazy too many years to count regarding this issue, I finally decided to DO SOMETHING with them this year.

I knew that there with this ring thingy's that could hold stuff together, but had NO IDEA what they were called...and that was oh-so-helpful as I was trying to explain them to the guy at Wal-Mart so I could find them.  {Just so you know, they're called book rings}

I finally found them ($1.50 for a package of 8, and they come with 2 sizes in the package), with the help of another female Wal-Mart employee {I'll leave those comments alone} and I was off and running.

When I made it home, I realized that I don't own a single hole hole-punch.  Or if I own one, I can't find it.  Or didn't look hard enough.  Or was too impatient to look very hard at all.

At any rate, I made do with two parts of my three hole hole-punch.

I gathered my Christmas cards....

Used the two holes from the hole punch and made my holes for my 'book'....then stacked and put them on the rings.

Easy peasy and oh-so-cute!!  So now I have contained and organized what was once my Christmas card clutter.

And I am curious....what DO you do with the Christmas cards you receive once Christmas is over?

Couponing

So I have a few goals for my couponing/thrifty endeavor...

The most obvious goal is to save money on things my family already buys.  In case you don't know it, expenses for a family of 5 can add up!

Another goal is to create a stockpile.  I have a vision of our garage shelves lined with toilet paper, paper towels, diaper wipes, toothpaste, easy mac, and enough cereal in stock for my kiddos (among other things, of course) to last for 3-6 months.  I'm learning, so I have no illusions that I'll get there next week, or even next month, but I'm trying, which is really what counts. (In case you're wondering, I don't find this goal in conflict with my declutter goal....I want to stock up on things we as a family love and use....so there are fewer stressful moments when we realize that there is no more toilet paper in the house.  Not that I have experience with that or anything...)

Another goal is to {once again} cook in bulk and store meals in my freezer.  I had been doing this for a while - and had even been organizing meal swap parties for the Sunday school class - and it makes dinners and meal planning so easy.  {Quick realization is that I didn't host a single solitary one of those meal swaps during the fall semester...and I don't think I had one in the summer either.  Shame on me!} So if I combine the freezer cooking with buying some of the ingredients in bulk and on sale, I'll be one happy mamma.

Of course, a lofty goal that I have is to hit the deals so that I ultimately get various toiletries for free (because apparently that is possible), but I know that's lofty and it will probably take a while before I'm ever at that point, so whatever.....any savings is good!

My final goal is to use the money we're saving from being thrifty and couponing and put it to good use.  Whatever that good use might need to be at the moment.  What I don't want to do is save money in this area and have this effort and those savings amount to nothing in our grand scheme of finances.  What a waste that would be.

It's the start of a new month, which means most of the online coupons just reset.  Who is on the couponing bandwagon with me??

February Goal for Clutter-Bustin'

It may not seem like much, but I will be purging 5 items a week for the month of February in an effort to contain clutter and purge items.

I feel like I just did this, but in my efforts to get organized, I am continually coming across posts that insist you cannot organize clutter.  I agree.

I have decided NOT to organize what I do not want or need.  

Instead, I will get rid of those items.  Yes really.  I will.  And they can't be 'trash' items (you know, empty milk cartons, etc).

So, even though the first week of February is a short week, it counts.  So my deadline is February 4th to purge 5 items from my home. 

I'll post a count update and perhaps even a picture of the items (assuming I can remember to take a picture before they're recycled or thrown out).

Care to join me??  Come on....you know you made some sort of New Year's Resolution to get more organized....