Whirlwind

Wow it's been nutty around here.   I feel so lame for not posting this week.   I actually even made my menu, links, etc and just never posted it or linked it up to MPM.  Ha wouldn't you figure it's the one week I've followed it more than I have in the past few weeks.  I've missed being here but just have had too many things going on in my house to even get a chance to sit at my computer.   And my kids informed me that we need two computers as I HOG our one - uh NOT....this is MY computer I keep reminding them and I LET them use it......doh.

Tomorrow I have to be at school at 815 for the 1st Grade Nutritious breakfast.   The kids and I made a quiche tonite - I need to warm, slice, and plate it before heading there in the morning.   My neighbor's babysitter is going to take my son along with her other two charges for the morning.   And on top of that I forgot I volunteered to be snack mom for the Daisy meeting tomorrow afternoon.   So I have to get some apples to slice along with the cheese sticks and juice I already purchased during the week.   And of course my daughter had dance tonite as well as homework ..... aaarrgghhhh...

Hoping to get back to you all more next week.   Perhaps I can be a more sane writer then as well!

Tasks for Tuesday

The crazy rain and wind has subsided and we're looking at a day of sunshine and near 60 degree temperatures.   Which means.....LAUNDRY!!!    I have one load ready for the line and will throwing another in shortly.  Hoping also to accomplish the following tasks today:

Drop off signed taxes (refund due yaaaayyy!!!)
Pick up birthday gift for neighbor boy
Did I say laundry? - yes more laundry
Bring some outgrown clothes to Goodwill
Get my boy outside to ride bikes, play in the yard, etc
Oh yeah...and more laundry

I've been pushing around the need to put together a weekly schedule for myself and the family.   I would like to take some time today to get some ideas onto paper and research some printable forms that I can use.  I'll see where I get and hopefully be able to share with you my results as well as some good links.

Grocery Planning and Still Cooking

I'm still not done with my freezer cooking.   Yesterday I made a turkey for dinner and today I'm making stock.    I'll post later with the results of what I managed to accomplish and link it up to the host blogs Money Saving Mom and Life as Mom.

Yesterday brought a wonderful taste of spring to our home.  I got two loads of laundry to dry on the line, did a little bit of yard cleanup, took a huge load of items to Goodwill and another load to the dump.   Of course today wouldn't you know it's snowing....sigh....oh well such is March in New England.

My goals for today are to get my grocery lists planned with coupons, balance my finances and finalize our March budget.  In addition to making stock and posting my cooking accomplishments, I'd like to tackle cleaning the layer of dust off my living room (a pellet stove is lovely for warmth but wow it puts out more dust than we realized).

Hope to see you back here a little later....

Monday Marathon

It's not quite 10:30 here and that's what I feel like I've been doing - running a marathon!   I can't quite say I'm winning the race but I am pleased so far with my pace and progress.   My Monday Marathon consists of the following:

Make Spaghetti Sauce with Meatballs and Sausage
Bake a loaf of bread
Tackle the Laundry Mountain (and put away the clothes too not just pile them)
Clean the bathrooms
Attack the Playroom Jungle
Take my boy to StoryTime at the library

So far the sauce is bubbling on the stove with sausage and homemade meatballs in it.   The bread is kneading in the breadmaker and I've scaled maybe a third of the way up Laundry Mountain.   I guess I'll knock out the bathrooms next and then drag the boy into the playroom jungle.

Hope you are having a good Monday!

The Friday Frenzies

We returned from Florida on Tuesday evening and I feel like I've been behind on my life since even before we left. We had a very nice visit with my father in law, saw my husband's cousins for dinner at their new house and made another step in accepting our family dynamics without my mother in law.

It's a snowy day here and I'm trying to get things back on track at home. Laundry and dishes are at the top of the list as well as updating the budget worksheet and digging through some mail and paperwork.

I really need to get a menu plan in place for next week as the past couple nights meals have been really lame and really late! My pantry and fridge are a bit sparse looking so they need some restocking as well.

Have a nice Friday all....mine is a bit frenzied but hopefully will produce some well needed accomplishments in our household.

A Bit of Time Away

It's been over a week since I've posted.   I am currently on vacation visiting my in-laws in Florida and prior to that was really consumed with getting ready to leave as well as trying to get a jump on some of my holiday shopping, decorating, etc as we won't be home until December 2nd.

We are staying in The Villages - an active adult community between Orlando and Ocala that is incredibly huge and a great place for my inlaws to live as well as for us to visit.   I hope to share a few photos over the weekend of the community and what we have been doing.

We had a nice Thanksgiving although it turned out different than planned.  We ended up moving the 17 person party from my mother in law's home to her neighbors, as hosting it here wouldn't have worked that day.  Those of you that we are close to know that we are facing some family challenges right now so you understand...I don't want to share more publicly out of respect for my family's privacy.    All in all it was a day to be thankful for...a day that we shared with family we don't see often as well as my inlaws friends who weren't able to be with their own families for the day.

I hope this holiday also found all of you healthy, happy and thankful for the blessings in your own live.  I miss blogging this past week, but need to take this time to be here and involved in the moment....blogging can wait until later.

Getting Back on Track

My daughter headed back to school today.   She is fever free but still has a lingering cough.   I opted to keep her off the bus though so my son and I dropped her off and will be picking her up at the end of the day.  I've also decided to have her skip dance class tonight - she doesn't need the extra energy output and I'm trying to avoid exposing her to additional germs.   We'll do a makeup class next Saturday.

I'm a bit overwhelmed and a bit behind on the list of things I had hoped to accomplish this week.   One plus to being home is that I haven't spent money - that needs to change today though as my son and I are headed out to Shaws shortly to catch the last day of this week's sale (the one I made my list and prepped my coupons for).  Other than that I think I am going to take things slow today - even with the overwhelming task list.   I'm feeling a bit of something coming on - my ears are a little stuffy and my throat a bit pinchy.   If we weren't so low on some necessary groceries I wouldn't bother to go today.   That said though I think both DS and I could use a brief outing - we're a bit stir crazy.   Hopefully later on today I'll have a November Grocery Challenge post up with pictures.

Keeping It Real - Priorities and The Things I Stress About

Yesterday I wrote about priorities as a mom being subject to whatever comes your way. While my post yesterday was for the day, lately I’ve been struggling with my priorities overall. Right now I’m a stay at home mom – after being a ladder climbing career woman for almost 20 years. My oldest is 6 and attends 1st grade and my 3 year old is home with me. Some days I feel like Super Mom – I accomplish a lot of household tasks, I do fun and semi educational things with my son, I get dinner on the table and help my daughter with her homework. Other days I feel overwhelmed and certain that I am not focusing on the most important things.

Some of the things that I get stressed on are:

My son is 3 and doesn’t know his letters and can’t count past 3. Am I failing him as a mom? Does he need preschool or should I put together a homeschool curriculum for him? My oldest was in daycare and learned most of these things in that environment.

My daughter needs more focus on her homework – she is a good student but not overly ambitious. Do I push her harder? Do I make it her responsibility to do more than what is ‘just’ required? Is just dance lessons and Daisies enough or should she engage in more extra-curricular activities?   Can I handle more activities????

I am frugal on a lot of small things. I hang dry my clothes, shop sales with coupons, menu plan, keep my electronics on light strips that I shut off, stretch leftovers and pack lunches for my daughter and husband. I did just initiate a refinance on our mortgage - which is a big thing. But I know we need to close a financial gap and that the continuous slow tapping of my severance isn’t good. Do I need to work harder at saving? Do I need to suck it up and go back to work full-time? Is there more that I can do from home to make money?

I have holiday planning, vacation planning, winter survival planning, organizing the house and the kids, my husband, and myself and ahhhhh…..so many things running through my brain. On top of it I added this blog to my list of things to do. Honestly though this is the one thing I feel is for me. Selfish or narcissistic as it sounds, I find myself energized by writing this blog and receiving positive feedback on what I put out. I have so many creative ideas that I want to implement and I get so excited about them – I just don’t have the time to get to all of them quick enough. The excitement for a project that is all my own has been awesome for my brain and my self-worth.

I just needed a chance to vent and also to let my readers know what’s real. I read a lot of blogs about homemaking, frugal living, homeschooling, cooking, parenting, faith, etc and sometimes after reading these I feel incredibly inadequate. However since I’ve been writing myself, I know that a blog is often ‘life edited’ for readers. Yes mine is that quite often – but for the moment I wanted to keep it real.

Priorities

Priorities when you're a mom sure do change quickly.   Today on 'Dawn's Agenda' I had planned to write a few blog posts, work on my Christmas Planning Tasks, do several loads of laundry and get to the grocery store.   Instead I will be snuggling on the couch watching silly kid videos, serving breakfast, lunch, snacks and cleaning up after each, playing board games and reading books.   The only possible trip outside the house is to the Dr's office.

Yes my oldest is still running a fever.   Yesterday she hovered around 100 degrees for most of the day then climbed up to 101 by dinnertime with an increased headache and sore throat.  She is still sleeping right now so I'm not sure what her status is yet this morning.  If she is still not feeling well I'll get her in to the Dr - but regardless she has to stay home from school until she is fever free for 24 hours.

So Dawn's priorities for the day get shoved aside as I step to the plate for my most important job.....mommy.

Here Comes The Tooth Fairy

Yes here she is - my oldest child, only daughter has lost her first tooth...sniffle...sniffle....  When the bus pulled up to the driveway this afternoon she had a big cheshire cat grin going - I couldn't figure out why until she leaped off the bus and showed me the tooth.

Of course now we have to figure out what the going rate is for the toothfairy - Any ideas???

Blitz It Friday - Trying to Catch Up

Today I'm joining Blitz It Friday #28 at Organized Everyday. I'm behind on housework and really don't want to spend the whole weekend trying to accomplish things with both kids and my husband under foot. So here's my plan for today and what I've completed so far:

For Blitz It Friday I am working on the following:

DONE!
Balance Checking Account and Update October Budget
Put Away 3 Laundry Baskets of Clean Clothes
Clean the Hall Bathroom (except for the tub/shower)
Vacuum Bedrooms, Kitchen, Living Room, Playroom, Stairs and Bathroom
Pick Up Playroom
Separate, Wrap and Freeze Meat purchased Thursday

Blitzing is a great way to forge ahead on getting a lot of tasks done in a small amount of time. The key for me is to limit my distractions - ie computer, tv, noodling, etc. If I set myself a deadline and have a list of things to accomplish I can usually get most of it done. Granted today I'm blocking out a large amount of time to getting things accomplished but often times with even 15 minutes to spare you can tackle at least one thing that has been bugging you.
Check out the link above to Blitz It Friday at organizedeveryday.com. Organized Mommy has lots of info on her blitzing methodology and some great inspiration to be gained from her previous projects.
Next week I plan to tackle the baking cabinets for my blitz. Stay tuned until then.

I Don't Know How They Do It

3 of "My Boys" for the Day

Yesterday I babysat for the boys next door. After getting my daughter and the two oldest boys on the bus, my son and I went over for 8am to get the other two boys. The morning was spent between their house and my house, doing a little bit of cleaning up and baking while the boys played. At lunchtime one of the boys came home from kindergarten. I fed them lunch, put the baby down for a nap and took the other three outside in the front yard for about 20 minutes. My daughter and the oldest boy got home at 3:30. Everyone had a snack and we all went out for a while again. The older kids stayed out while I brought the baby and the two littlest boys inside.

We walked back to our house just before 5:30pm and I immediately got supper started. My husband was working late and then going to his dart club so I had all the parenting, feeding, homework, and bed readying duties myself. WOW was that tougher than I had realized. I’m used to having those responsibilities when he works late but never after working myself. I’ve been a stay at home mom since my daughter started school and have been able to work my schedule to accommodate everything else that needs to get done. (uh oh….I need to get ground beef out of the freezer this morning for dinner tonight….sorry brain wanderings there)

Last night made me very thankful that I am able to stay home right now and that most nights my husband is home to help with homework, bath and dinner cleanup. It also gave me a great deal of compassion for the women out there who work all day and then come home at night to do all the things that I’m able to do during the day. Let’s just say I’m a little bit in awe…..

Settling Back into Routine

Fall always seems to signify a settling back into the normal routine of life after all the fun and chaos of summer. It seems even more like that now that DD is in first grade. Summer was fun but it was the most un-frugal and often the most overwhelming two months of the year. Now that we are into our 4th week of school, dance lessons have started, DD has joined Daisy's, managing homework is becoming a norm and I'm happy to have more structure and slow down a bit.

My goals for the fall include:

1. Declutter and selling off that clutter (we are doing a tag sale next weekend and I have a couple things up on Craigslist right now)
2. Work more on my Blog
3. Reduce our Expenses
4. Increase our Income

Today is a rainy Sunday and it seems like the perfect time to sit down and make a plan for achieving my goals.

Two Steps Forward - One Step Back

Isn't that always the case....especially when it comes to homemaking? Yesterday afternoon I was feeling pretty smug and finally back on top of my game. DD had been back to school for three days and DS was napping. I managed to finally put away the 4 loads of laundry that were folded in various safe spots around the house, purged the entryway of all the snow gear and baked a banana bread and ricotta cake.

This afternoon DS refused to nap, the clothesline broke and I had to pluck all my laundry off the ground and out of the pricker bush. My plan for reorganizing my kitchen cupboards was far too ambitious. I did get one cabinet purged but instead of being able to reorganize it I had to just put back in the things I plan to keep until I can get to the next cabinet and reorganize the two in conjunction.

I still have to assemble dinner and get it into the oven rather soon.

On a good note....I took a walk today and got a shower. I guess that makes it a sucessful day for most moms huh?