Organizing My Home-A Daily Struggle

"If my kids were just a little older, my home would be much more organized." How many times have you thought that? And in the next thought, "I shouldn't wish the time away."

It's  funny to think about how many people tell me I am SO organized. I wish! I do have a place for everything (of the kids) and it is labeled, but I haven't found the trick to get them to put their things in said baskets. There are many wonderful quotes that should be painted in huge letters across my walls, "Cleaning the house while your children are young is like shoveling snow in a blizzard!" I struggle y'all! EVERY day. Some days I am okay thinking that time spent with the kids is more important than a tidy house, other days I am near tears wondering where I have failed.

As my kids get older I add a little more responsibility to their chore lists. I now have the 9, 8, and 6 year olds folding/hanging their own laundry. I don't criticize how they fold. I try to have mini-lessons and then I leave the room. What does it look like? When I take all the clean laundry to my room, I have 4 baskets on my bed. I sort the clean laundry into each child's basket and if it needs to be hung up, I make a pile in front of their basket. I also make a separate pile of my husband's clothes that need to be ironed. It works like clockwork!

I decided to have my children take baby-steps every day this summer to try to make the house look a little better every day. They wake up, have breakfast and a little screen time (since they all wake up at different times) and  then I announce that  when the timer rings, it is time to start chores. I also worked in that if chores are done WITHOUT COMPLAINING, we will have a little treat each day. These are treats my kids don't get during the school year like snow cones, 1/2 price shakes at Sonic, an item at the dollar store, etc....

And here are their chores:
Day 1: Make your bed neatly. Fold jammies. All dirty clothes to hamper. Floor cleaned. Laundry folded/hung and put away. All personal belongings out of living room, dining room, and off of stairs. Read ____ minutes.  

Day 2: Same as day 1, add "Dresser cleaned off."

Day 3: Same as day 2, add "Drawers organized…all clothes folded neatly and in the right place."

Day 4: Add "Bookshelf cleared shelf by shelf and items put back neatly."

Day 5: Add " Closet cleaned COMPLETELY."

Day 6: Add "Van cleaned out"

Day 7: Add "All trash out of back yard."

Day 8: Add "Playroom cleaned."

Day : "Playroom odds ands ends put in place."

Day 10: "Change sheets"

Day 11: "Get all your things out of Mommy and daddy's room."

Day 12: "Clean out your backpack."


That's as far as I've gotten. If you have some other trouble spots, let me know so I can add them.

My house still isn't the way I want it, but honestly, will it ever be? I can't compare myself to one of my best friends, Rochelle. Her home IS ALWAYS perfect, She will not go to bed with anything out of place and she wakes up extra early to unload the dishwasher. She is a professional organizer, check out her Facebook page, A Simplified Space. That is her God-given gift and not mine. I can learn a little from her each time we stay at her house, but my home will never be like hers. Her path is not mine!

Just stop beating yourself up and while you are on your path, don't forget to stop and smell the roses.

Mother of the Year Award

And the Mother of the Year award goes to..................................................


Not me!

Well, not that I was up for it or anything, but I am still feeling awful about Caleb's party yesterday. See, I have known for months that we would have his party on March 2. I've known that it was also the date that College Station ISD students who read more than 250 pages would be going to the Texas Aggie basketball game so I knew I'd have to plan around that game. Well, this year March just snuck up on me. Maybe it was because we made a day trip to Fort Worth to say goodbye to Stephen's dad and be with his mom who had a stroke that morning. Maybe it was because I had something on my calendar every single morning last week. Maybe it was because there are only 28 days in February, I don't know, but last Sunday morning I woke up in a panic because I realized that his party was 6 days away, NOT the 13 I thought. I jumped out of bed and completed the few invitations we had before church. I knew that most of Caleb's class would be able to come with such short notice. I ran into some good friends as I was dropping the kids off in their Sunday School classes and I told them about the party, followed by, "I know it is really short notice, and I am so sorry. I understand if you have plans." Then I was reminded that the 2nd graders were making their First Reconciliation at the same time as Caleb's party. EPIC FAIL on my part. A few sweet friends told me not to worry, just keep this one small. So, if you are one of the dear friend I forgot to contact, I am so sorry, it was not intentional.

A dear friend and mother of 5, who is the RE director of her Parish in OK posted that she was on her retreat this past weekend when she realized today is the Youth Mass and she forgot to find anyone to usher, lector, serve Eucharist, etc....so it does happen. We are human and we are forgiven.

Thankfully, kids (especially Caleb) are so grateful for whoever shows up and whatever I threw together. It was a success in his eyes and that should be good enough for me...but I am still thinking of a few friends who were left out and I'm so sorry!

What it's Like With 4 Kids 6 and Under (and a Half-Time Job)

Just when you think you REALLY can't handle any more, God proves you wrong.

Things were already overwhelming before with me working 7:30-11:30 and Stephen working 12-9 plus some weekends PLUS taking classes online. Monday nights were crazy with having dinner on the table by 5 so we could get Lauren to dance AND Caleb to soccer, both at 5:45. Hmmm... Every other Thursday night Lauren has Girl Scouts.

My dad moved in with us on December 29. Even though there are many things we are working through right now, this really is a GOOD thing. Dad was not taking care of himself and I was sending people to check on him, only to call me and tell me they had to put him in the hospital. I was a wreck always wondering about his health.

So now we are adding my father's MANY doctor's appointments to our schedule plus some other issues we were dealing with that really were taking hours out of our weeks.

My fabulous friends from church heard my cries and got together to make meals to stock our freezer. What a blessing! Think about doing this for any friend in need. It not only saved me the time of making dinner, it saved time of going to the store to buy the ingredients, putting the ingredients away when I got home, and cleaning dishes, etc... Even with that help, my husband had to take a break from classes.

This week has been particularly stressful for me. Caleb turned 5 yesterday which means a party tomorrow. Stephen took off of work last night so we could have our little family party. We had not bought Caleb any presents so here is how yesterday looked after work:

-home/lunch/naptime
-2:45 woke all the kids and went to pick up Lauren from school
straight to Wal-Mart to get a cake for the evening plus order a cake for Saturday (this hurt because I had to admit I did not have enough time to make his cake this time), bought presents with Caleb in the shopping cart
-rushed home to feed starving baby
-got everything ready for Caleb's soccer and evening out (thank goodness Girls Scouts was cancelled)
-took Caleb to soccer and wrapped his presents in the van
-party at Chuck E Cheese
-8:45 home and prayers/bedtime only an hour late
-fed starving baby again
-tried to clean a little for housekeeper

Today will prove to be just as crazy:
-pick up Lauren and straight across town to the party store to get more goody bags
-home to get Lauren ready for her first sleepover
-church for Mardi Gras celebration...Lauren to sleepover late
-home to get the kids bathed and in bed

Saturday will be tricky as well:
-Caleb's game is at 9
-We are supposed to pick Lauren up in the next town at 9
-Pick up the cake and buy the food for the party
-Home to decorate and stuff the goody bags
-3:00 PARTY TIME

I think I can, I think I can, I think I can!

All is Well

That's my mantra these days as things seem to be falling apart. Yesterday, as I was preparing dinner, Lauren accidentally spilled chocolate milk in the refrigerator. It spilled down onto every shelf below, and into the drawers. So I got to check "Clean the Refrigerator" off the massive to-do list. How in the world do little crumbs get into the fridge anyway? And how on earth do they get under the glass and lodged into all the tiny crevices? I guess I should have had an old toothbrush handy. This was all after I decided not to be so OCD about the kids playing with Play-Doh, mixing colors, and shredding the big ball into tiny pieces that fall on the floor. I was so calm about that!

So Stephen walked into the house for his quick dinner break and found dinner not on the plates, and me with my head buried in the fridge. I told him he might not make it back to work. So see, I have to tell myself that all is well because in the grand scheme of things, it is. The kids are healthy and happy.

On a positive note, I hope to have a little more time to try some new apple and pumpkin recipes this month. I have already tried a few fabulous apple recipes and posted them on my cooking blog. I made some spicy Chex Mix last Friday, and the double batch was gone in less than 4 days. Cooking and baking always put me in a good mood. I love this time of year and I hope I can make the time to stop and blog about all the fun we are having.

I hope all is well for you, too!

Motherhood Mayhem

Last Sunday I had to take Lauren to RE (Sunday School) by myself because Stephen had a display at the Bridal Show. I had no problems taking her in with Caleb, Abby, and Spencer in-tow, but picking her up proved to be a disaster.

I pulled up along the drive and parked behind a SUV. I told Caleb and Abby not to get out until I could make sure there were no ants in the grass. First I checked for the stroller, but it was not in the van. I took Spencer's carrier around and told Caleb and Abby that it was safe to get out. Within a few seconds, Caleb was screaming. He was covered in ants. I yanked him up and onto the street in front of the van and made sure Abby was okay. I started smacking the ants and watching them surround him on the ground. A man walked by, staring, but not offering help. I picked Caleb up and put him on the hood of the van and tried to call a friend to pick up Lauren. She did not answer. Then, Abby said she had to go potty. This was the first day she was in panties. There was a man in the SUV in front of me and he did try to help. He gave me a few wipes so at least I could wipe Caleb down. I had to get the kids inside. Caleb begged me to carry him and I guess that Mommy adrenaline kicked in because I carried Caleb AND Spencer in his carrier and managed to hold Abby's hand.

We went straight to the family bathroom where I set the carrier down, left Caleb (still crying) on the floor, and put Abby on the toilet. I opened the door to look for someone to help. I found one friend and asked her to get Lauren. Then I started asking strangers if there was a first aid kit. I left all 3 little ones in the bathroom and went to the teacher's workroom where we did find a first aid kit.

Long story short, we found some Benadryl spray which allieviated the pain a little bit. Leslie brought Lauren to me, and Julia helped me get all the kids out to the van. Wow, what a day.