the first post of 2015

January.  The month for New Year's resolutions.  I definitely have a few goals for the year, yet I don't think I'm doing so well thus far.

Per the recommendation of my blogger buddy, Sarah, I started an Instagram account.  This may or may not be contributing to my lack of blogging.  More than likely, it is.  However, I confess that I've been really enjoying not being on the computer much lately.  And I confess: I love Instagram...like, really love it. 

Plus, I have that fancy new smart phone.  And who blogs from a smart phone?  No one.  I Instagram and Facebook from my smart phone.  They're so easy, but they're certainly not my blog.  And I love my blog.  

One of my New Year's resolutions is to blog once a week.  I'm obviously not doing well because it's January 23, and this is my first post of the year.  I'm not even including a picture.  Shameful, I know.  We'll see how I do.  

We've been enjoying a lot of downtime since Christmas, even since school resumed the first full week of the year.  It has been nice.  One of my other New Year's resolutions was to go to bed earlier and get up at a consistent time in the morning.  I'm always all over the board.  My friend, Deanna, is totally keeping me accountable for this one.  And until tonight, I've done extremely well at keeping my curfew.  Tonight? I've blown it already, so why not blog a little more?

Claire and I are spending a weekend together next weekend, Meredith's 10th birthday is just around the corner, and I have weekends out of town for various reasons through May.  I feel like I've been a planning fool over the last couple of weeks, and it seems that there is still a lot to do.  Putting out the hottest fires first.  I know everything will come together, but I've got way more tabs open in my mind than I'd like.  

Did I mention that our Christmas decor hasn't yet left the house?  I didn't, I know.  That's because it should be embarrassing.  Most of it is finally in boxes, but the tree is definitely still standing in our kitchen with lights on it.  This is, BY FAR, the latest it's ever still been standing.  You can call it "festive," but it's definitely because I'm lazy and didn't insist that my husband find the Christmas boxes in the barn until this week.

You know those people that pull their Christmas decor out in October?  Yeah, we're like them only backwards.  We're leaving ours up until February...maybe.

I must admit, though, I haven't minded.  It's made January a bit more festive in our home. :)  Sometimes our trees are literally falling apart if we stare too long at them, but I'm pretty sure we bought the most hearty, glorious tree of the bunch.  As soon as we saw it, we claimed it.  (The Hallelujah Chorus may or may not have played as we looked at it for the first time.)  We definitely got our money's worth this year.

Okay, back to 2015...I'm completely looking forward to this year.  It feels like we're growing up a lot.  The girls' birthday stretch is upon us, and when it's through, we're going to have a 12, 10, 7, and 4 year old.  Boy, those numbers look big.  

Parenting this 9-12 year old stage is an interesting journey.  It has reminded me of my early years of parenting when I had zero clue on what to do.  I read so many parenting books then, and I have felt the need to do the same with this era.  I feel like I am constantly sponging information off other moms who have been there/done that.  They are secretly my mentors, and I am beyond grateful for them.  I have found myself praying for my children more than ever.  Obviously, as a parent, I know that I'm having an impact on my children, yet the weightiness of it all has really been impressed on me recently.  I'm stepping it up.

There is so much more that I could say, but I really do need to get some sleep.  I do have to run my household in the morning.  And Deanna will probably text me first thing in the morning, and I'll have to confess that I didn't get to bed until 2:21.  Hopefully, she'll spare me public humiliation.  Anyway, if I can keep my blogging resolution (and snag the computer from time to time in the evening), I'll have time to say more.  Until then, I pray 2015 is a blessing to you.

our family chores

Training kids for chores is a whole lot of work.  It's also an enormous blessing to our family.  I've made chore charts for the kids for several years.  I think I started with Claire when she was 4.

I'm a huge believer in chores for kids.  They help make the mess; they should help clean it.  It also provides good training for when they leave the house as well as when parents are busy or ill and need some additional assistance.  

Chores within your home will look different depending on whether you have younger kids, older kids, kids in public/private school, or kids at home who homeschool.  Schedules and abilities will vary...be flexible.  It's a complete trial and error process until you can find something that works well for your family.  We've done it several different ways.  What I'm describing here is what is currently working for our family.  

I used to make new charts for the kids every few weeks so that the kids wouldn't get bored with their chores.  And then, I read about a woman who had her kids do the same chores for an entire year.  Wow!  Being someone who likes variety, I didn't know if this was for our family.  Then, I had Olivia, and I did my best to simplify virtually everything in my life...including chores.  

I decided to give the kids daily chores and weekly chores that they would do the entire year.  I knew that once I taught them how to do their chores, I wouldn't have to teach new chores again for a year.  Doing the same chores for the entire year would give them routine as well as allow them to master a specific chore/skill.  This year, I'm training in the summer so that everyone will be in their routine by the time the school year starts.

I typically choose chores for my kids that help our household run smoothly.  I try to think about what drives me most crazy by the time we make it to 1:00 in the afternoon {which is about the time we do chores}, and I base their daily chores on those things.  Usually, the entryway is a mess, there are toys/games/things all over the kitchen and family room, the main area of our kitchen and the bar area are covered in crumbs of food, the kitchen counter needs attention, etc.  You get the idea.  This year I added dinner/after dinner chores for everyone as well.  This is a first for us...prior to this year, I have always wanted the girls to be able to get all of their chores finished during our "chore time."  It's working well so far.

On a side note, this is the first time in a couple of years that no one has had a "mom's choice" chore.  I've had those on our charts a lot, and I'm always thankful for that specific chore.  I can choose anything I'd like, and there is usually something random that needs done.  Consider adding this to your own kids' charts if you need an extra idea.

I always give my kids a set of daily chores and a set of weekly chores.  I assign their weekly chores to specific days, or the kids would wait until the last day, and everything would turn into a huge fight.  

Here are our chore lists for this year:

Claire {10 years old}

daily 

make bed, pick up bedroom floor, load dishwasher after dinner, wash pots and pans

weekly

Sunday: make dinner with Meredith

Monday: one load of laundry {pinks...I know you're not surprised to know that we have a full load of pinks :)}

Tuesday: sweep and steam the entire kitchen floor, clean the bathroom

Wednesday: vacuum all carpeted rooms

{This year, I allowed Claire to choose the days of the week in which she wanted her weekly chores.  I know she is going to have more school work this year, so she will have the flexibility to "make up" her weekly chores on Thursday and Friday if she doesn't get them done on the first couple of days of the week.  We'll see how it goes once school starts.}

Meredith {8 years old}

daily

make bed, pick up bedroom floor, sweep main area of kitchen and under bar, pick up entryway/hallway, kitchen counter clean up with Mom, wipe table and main counter after dinner

weekly

Sunday: make dinner with Claire

Tuesday: sweep entryway and hallway

Thursday: one load of laundry {light colored towels}

Amelia {5 years old}

daily

make bed, pick up bedroom floor, pick up family room floor and kitchen floor, pick up 50 toys/things in the playroom, set dinner table, clear dinner table with Mom

weekly

Tuesday: dust family room

Wednesday: load of laundry with Mom {dark colored towels}

Me

daily

make bed, pick up bedroom floor, declutter kitchen

weekly

Monday: kitchen {The kitchen usually gets a bit crazy over the weekend, so Monday is a good day to get it back in order.}

Tuesday: straighten/clean master bathroom

Wednesday: declutter laundry room, office, hanging rack in entryway

Thursday: lesson plans/school prep

Friday: wipe cabinets/appliances, prep laundry

Saturday: laundry

  

If everyone gets to work, usually they can finish their chores in about 30 minutes.  The complaining, moaning, and distractions usually add to the time.  Some days, my kids really get right to work and are done in a flash...other days, not so much.  As of now, I'm pretty much walking along side of Amelia to keep her on task while she's learning.  She gets overwhelmed easily, but if I'm helping her, it's not so bad.  

While I'm really good at getting my kids to complete their chores, I'm not the best at getting my own completed.  I've been doing better in recent weeks, but honestly, the laundry room and the office are huge collecting spaces in our home.  We're working on it.  I try not to get too overwhelmed and just try to put out the biggest fire at the time.  

Here are some good links for chore chart printables or fill-in printables to make your own:

http://www.designfinch.com/2011/07/31/sunday-planning/ {I'm using one from this list for Claire and myself this year.}

http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/6a/9a/95/6a9a953c46a238cd327918ee3ef6b1c6.jpg {I'm using this for Meredith and Amelia.}

http://blog.worldlabel.com/2012/organizing-labels-for-more-stuff.html {I used these last year.}

http://www.howdoesshe.com/1-free-organizational-printables/

I always print them, laminate them, and hang them near the kitchen.  

Happy cleaning!

{keepin' it real}

I've been thinking about this post for a long time.  And by a long time, I think it’s been at least a couple of years, if not more.

We have a lot of fun in this family.  We work hard, and we play hard.  Josh and I work hard to make memories for our children and each other.  

I say it on this blog, I say it on facebook, and I say it in real life over and over and over again.  We are so blessed…and we are blessed beyond measure!  God is good…all the time.

People often tell me how much they love to read my blog and my facebook status updates, and they also enjoy seeing the beautiful pictures of my girls that I post.  I love all of those things, too!  I wouldn't post them if I didn't like them. 

My continued fear, though, is that people will think that we live a perfect little life.  I sure hope that you know that we don't.  Hence, the reason for this post.

Let me start by sharing some self-imposed guidelines for my facebook page and my blog:

-You will never see me speaking poorly of my husband.  It is not becoming of any wife.  I will not do it.  {On a side note, Josh does have his faults.  However, I speak about them privately to him, my bff Deanna, or his family.  These are people who are discerning and will not take my side undeservedly.}

-I will put a positive spin on almost any situation...or at minimum find a little humor in it.  This is who I am, forever the optimist.  I might grumble about something today, but by next week, I'm sure I'll be doing my best to find a positive side to the story.  Whatever the case we'll be making the best of our current situation.  How else will we endure it?  

-I will encourage others and share what works for us.  This is one of my constant goals in life.  I realize that what works for us may not work for other families, but I crave knowing other people's routines and tricks because that's where I get all of my ideas.  I steal almost all of them.  Rare is the idea that was mine first.

-I will write about memories that I don't want to forget.  This is especially true for our blog.  You will see our highlights and bloopers because those are the memories that I treasure.  This is our highlight reel.  These are the parts that would make the scrapbook if I had one.

And here is some imperfect, kinda grimy, non-supermom reality for your reading pleasure:

-On days when we don't have to go anywhere, I often stay in my pajamas all day.

-If I don't dress Olivia during her first diaper change of the day, you can bet that she stays in her pajamas all day, too.  On a positive note, she has spent less time in her jammies than any of my other children.

-We use paper plates for lunch almost every day.  For $2 a month, my sanity is saved.  Well worth the money spent.

-Sometimes, I let my kids watch t.v. just so that I can get stuff done.  {You might not think this is a big deal at all, but I have issues with the t.v.  This one is a big one for me.}

-My pots and pans accumulate on the stove because I hate washing them.

-Sometimes I lose it and yell at my kids.

-As soon as I clean a room, someone messes it up again.

-My kids truly do enjoy being together, but they also know how to push each other's buttons. One or two of them are awfully good button pushers.

-My house looks clean and picked up when you come over because I knew you were coming.  Stop by on a Tuesday morning, unannounced, and you'll get the real deal.

The organizational side of me that you see has been born out of necessity.  I am not naturally an organized person.  I have good intentions, I know how to organize, and I can probably even tell you how to organize some parts of your own life.

Personally, I struggle with disciplining myself to use my systems.  They are in place, but my motivation and energy often seem to be in short supply.  Still, it is extremely beneficial to know where to start and how to go about it when I find time, motivation, and energy.  Again, I would lose my sanity if I didn't at least have a plan.

Now about our stuff.  {Another fear of mine is that people will think that we have a lot of money because we have nice stuff.}

I will be the first to say that we do indeed have a lot of nice stuff.  Josh works really hard to provide for our family so that we can have and do a lot of things.  He is also an extremely skilled do-it-yourselfer, and this man can find a bargain like no other.  We have saved thousands and thousands of dollars because of these skills.  {We have certainly not saved any time because of these skills...just money...lots and lots of money.}

Our finances are a huge priority to us.  We are awfully disciplined when it comes to our money.  I'll be the first to say it:  we are cheapskates!  We have a whiskey appetite and a beer budget.  Actually, I think our biggest problem is that we have a top shelf whiskey appetite and a cheap beer budget. :)

We aren't big spenders on a daily basis.  A lot of the nice things we have were birthday or Christmas gifts from our families or each other, or we've saved and saved to make a purchase.  We are not extravagant.  When we do shop, we often shop at resales/resale shops, garage sales, or get hand-me-downs from friends.  We are frugal, and it works for us.

My birthday dinner the other night?  That once-every-few-years extravagance cost us almost 2 months worth of our eating out/babysitter budget.  Trust me when I say that I enjoyed every single minute of it.  My commitment to cook dinner each and every night of the month has served me well this year.

Our priorities do not include "keeping up with the Jones'".  I certainly struggle with this from time to time.  I think we all do, but we need to remember that the Jones family is probably in debt up to their ears and miserable because of it.  We will not be that family.  We will not fall into that trap.  We will be thankful for all that we have, knowing that we've been given more than we need and certainly more than we deserve.

I will do my best not to play the comparison game.  It is my hope that I am real enough that you actually do see some of our struggles and challenges...we certainly have them.  I want you to be encouraged and to enjoy watching our family make memories and grow.

What you see is what you get.  This really is us...just remember that a lot of it is the best of us.  It's the favorite-edited-photo side, the we-cleaned-the-house-before-you-came side, and we-probably-baked-some-chocolate-chip-cookies-too, side.  This is our best foot forward.  Please remember that sometimes we trip and fall flat on our faces just like the rest of the world.

I pray that you see our family continually loving each other, continually forgiving each other, and continually falling at the feet of our Heavenly Father in thankfulness and humility for all we have be given.

Thank you for being faithful followers of us.  We love having you share in our memories.  

i.am.a.runner

I am a runner. I didn't used to be a runner.

After watching the Boston Marathon, I was inspired. If they can run 26 miles, I can surely run 3.1 miles.

I had told Julie and Rachel that I had a goal to run a 5K by the time I was 40. They laughed at me...so did Josh! Hey, I'm busy people!!!

So, being the up-for-the-challenge girl that I am, I started a running program:

http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml

It's the "Couch to 5K" running plan. It's for people just like me that want to run, but are overwhelmed by the idea. I've never liked running.

So, I started about 8 weeks ago, and I ran in my first 5K last Saturday!!! It was so exciting.

I decided that I would be thrilled just to run the entire time, and I would be extremely pleased with a time of 31:00.

At mile #1, a guy was calling out times....9:27. "I think I'm running too fast!" However, I felt good, so I just decided that I would keep my pace and slow down later if I thought I needed to.

I passed 23 people (2 of them being guys) which I thought was incredible...I had a goal of 5! As I was approaching the finish line, I heard them calling out times over the PA system....29:32...29:35...

"Oh my goodness!" I thought, "I can make it in under 30:00 if I kick it up!!"

So, I put on my speedy legs and sprinted to the finish....29:49.

And there at the finish line was my supportive husband and adorable daughters cheering me on. I almost cried....surprise, surprise.

It was fantastic. I placed 100 out of 190.

I'd like to thank Julie and Rachel for chuckling at my goal and making me want to achieve my goal much sooner! I'd like to thank Josh for supporting me through my training, pushing me out the door, and bringing everyone to the finish line...it meant a lot to have all of you there. Thank you to the girl in the pink tank top...you were the first person that I passed. Lady in the purple shorts....I will pass you next year.

made.it

I got up this morning at 6:40 and had breakfast with Josh! I finished reading Esther this morning...more about that next week.

I'm just pumped that I set my goal and accomplished it! Woohoo.

Now, if I can just do it next week, that will be great. Time will tell.

Happy Labor Day to everyone! We're going to the lake...sing along if you know it...
We're going to the lake, lake, lake.
Maybe have some cake, cake, cake.
Lots of fun we'll make, make, make.
When we're at the lake, lake, lake.

Yes, my kids sing this all the time. Yes, my mom made it up with them. Yes, it's borderline obnoxious, but they love it so I love it. Yay for Grandmas, yay for songs!