Chore Chart...

This afternoon when I had a free minute I searched online for a chore chart that could help keep me on track to get things done. I Found one that I liked but I didn't want to pay for it. So I changed a few things by adding chores that are unique to me and mt family and this is what I came up with! I am hoping that this will work for me.

Take a look Here

Let me know what you think. The Check boxes are missing, they didn't copy over to Google Documents but you get the gist!

Renewed energy and a cool website!

So today I took the challenge of setting the timer for 1 hour and getting as much cleaning done as I can get done in that hour. I must admit once the hour was up I still kept working, which is great! I was able to vacuum and edge my living room, clean out and re-organize my TV cabinet, put a new box of diapers away, pick up all the toys, and hang up a few jackets. Then I moved to the kitchen, I did the dishes, organized my spice cupboard and coffee cupboard, cleaned off the counter tops and I made dinner and got that in the oven! I felt so much better after I got that all done. I still have to do about 5 loads of laundry tonight so that I can pack our bags tomorrow for our trip, but other then that I am going to read my book tonight! I think the 1 or 2 hours a day is something that I can keep up with!

As for this cool website, My girlfriend Tiffanie sent me this awesome website that I totally fell in love with after browsing it for about 5 minutes. It is called eatathomecooks.com. This mom plans out a weeks worth of dinners and puts together the recipes, shopping list, side suggestions and even a dessert! Plus within each meal she has some of the recipes that are for the slow cooker, others you make two of so that you can put one in the freezer for later that week of to portion out for lunches. Also, what I like about her site is that she uses a lot of fresh, natural, healthy ingredients. I think she has about 30 weeks of menus planned. It is so easy all you do is open up the menu that you want to use, print it off and then go shopping! Talk about easy!
If you choose to use this site, let me know what you think!

I am going chopping tomorrow! So I will let you know how it goes!

Staying on task...

Thanks Karen for giving me the idea for this post! I am trying to figure out a routine/organizer/time management/schedule for everything that I have to do around the house. My question for everyone out there is what are some things/tools that you use to stay on top of everything that needs to get done. Everything from feeding the cat, doing laundry, cleaning bathrooms, meal planning, date nights, bathroom cleaning, play time with the boys and relaxation. Do you set one day aside for laundry or do you do a load everyday? Do you clean all three bathrooms in one day or again space them out? Set specific times each day for relaxing, cleaning, cooking, playing etc....?

I am trying, and failing I might add, at finding a way to manage everything at the same time.
Karen, my sister-in-law, gave me the idea that I should set a timer for an hour and do whatever i can in that hour. Or maybe I will do that twice a day once in the morning and once in the afternoon? So I figured I would try it starting tomorrow!

I make all these lists of things that need to get done and yet nothing seems to get done even though I am working on them? I am also known, at least when it comes to things around the house, for saying that I am going to get something done today and then by the end of the day it is only partially done or not at all. Then I get frustrated and then Jason gets frustrated and that is just not good. So any and all ideas are welcome and hopefully I can get into some kind of routine that works and will stick.

Playing with flour!

The other day I was doing dishes and the boys were "helping" me load the dish washer. At one point the door bell rang and Bo & I went to answer it. In the time it took me to go answer the door and get back to the kitchen, Joel moved the chair to the island and dumped my canister of flour that I had out because I was going to make cookies. Needless to say I didn't have any flour left to make cookies.

Ooops.....

Aren't I cute mom!

Unfinished projects.......

For those of you who know me well, know that I have a problem with starting projects and then starting more projects before the other ones are done. This has been something that I am really trying to fix, because not only will it help me be more organized but it will also cut down on the "project clutter piles" that are around the house. The Misc clutter piles are what have really been annoying me lately. All these different projects are sitting there and every time I walk by them it's like they are calling out saying "Finish Me", but something else always seems to come up. Yesterday I started yet another project, that being, I gave the boys their own bedrooms and did a lot of rearranging upstairs. So today's goal is to finish putting everything away, all the toys, clothes, and the decorations. I also need to clean the bathrooms and while I am at it I need to dust upstairs, I don't think I have done that for the past month or two? In my picture perfect world, everything would get put away after using it, the bathrooms would clean themselves, the boys wouldn't get sick, and the laundry wouldn't pile up.....BUT since we live in reality that is not going to happen. I guess what i am saying is that I need to learn to "roll with the punches" better and not let the little things throw of my whole routine. I need to manage my time a little better so that the projects and house cleaning get done in a timely manner...SO I am now off to tackle the unfinished projects upstairs so that it is nice and clean by the time Jason gets home and then I can really relax playing with the boys, making cards, watching old movies all while enjoying a clean house!

Our Christmas Tree:

For those of you who know me know that I LOVE CHRISTMAS!!! I love the smells, the lights, the music, the baking, the getting together with family and friends to celebrate Christs birth! This year I got to set up our Christmas tree a little early. I was doing a big open house the day after Thanksgiving and I wanted the house to be all festive and pretty. I always like to do a color theme for my tree. In the past I have done red, silver and black, which I love! I have done red, green and white. This year I did Chocolate brown, red, and green! I love how those colors look together! I get most of my ornaments from Hobby Lobby, they have a great selection and they are always on sale!

I am known for getting tall and fat trees, however this year I was able to find a tall and skinny one that I liked! Well here are a few pictures of the tree, it definitely looks better in person with the lights on at night, I will add some more pictures a little later.