Looking ahead to 2011

As last year, this will be another year of firsts for us.

This March we will be welcoming Bree, our first baby girl!!  Obviously, I'm going to be spending a good portion of the next couple of months preparing for her.

This will also be the first year that I will not be working (aside from some lessons) without being in school.  With Bree coming, I will not be advertising my lessons this year, so I will only keep the students I already have or get by word of mouth.  I will spend this year working on the house and taking care of Bree.  Next year, I can pick up more lessons again.  As I noted in my firsts few posts; for this year, I'm going to attempt to contribute to the household income not by trying to earn more but by saving more.  That will lead to several changes: not eating out as much, organizing the house so that we can find everything and will use the things we have, etc.

To begin that process, I invested in a freezer and a stand mixer (for pizza and bread dough that my hand mixer can't handle) as my Christmas presents.  I've also been looking at what I can do to improve the organization & storage options in my home.  Today, my mom, my mother-in-law and I are going in search of baby & storage items that are on sale!  We'll get some fun girl time and be useful at the same time!  As I said before, include someone else in your organizational challenge.  They might have a good idea or know of a product that can help you, plus it's just more fun that way!

This year, don't make the same old resolutions, make a plan.  Take those big goals and break them down into small steps that you can accomplish in a day or a week.  You will have a much better chance of success at that big item if you can see that you have been successful at completing the smaller tasks leading up to it.

I have started on my plan with my Christmas purchases.  I have also cleared Bree's room of items that we can't use for her and checked Josh's old carseat & stroller to see if we can still use them so I know what we need to purchase.  My mom will take care of painting and putting the room together once we have made our purchases.  She's the creative one.

Once we have made our purchases, the first thing I am going to do is work on a chore schedule.  I don't want to get behind or bogged down by the simple things that need to be done.  If I schedule time each day to take care of one or two of these "must-do" items, they won't build up and catch me by surprise.  One advantage to this is that, if we have unexpected guests, we should be able to get the house presentable fairly quickly.

The next task on my list is to go through the kitchen and inventory the items in the cabinets, pantry & freezer.  I will use that inventory to make a cooking/donation plan to make sure we use all of the food before it expires.  From there, I will move on to the laundry/mud room and cleaning supplies, then the mound of papers, magazines and miscellaneous items on my desk and organize my office supplies.

Obviously, it will take me several steps to get around the whole house, but each time I complete a task, I will feel a little better and be encouraged to do the next one.

Happy Planning and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Looking Back at 2010

Well, Christmas is officially over and the New Year starts in just days!  In this lull between holidays, I am reflecting over the past year before I begin planning for the new year.

This year has been a year of many firsts for us.

As Josh has gone from 3 to 4, he has been more and more able to do things for himself, though sometimes he still wants us to do them for him "just because".  While we were planning on having our second child before now, I think it will be a real blessing that Josh is so self sufficient before she comes.

This was the first year that I had enough riding students to have not one, but two weeks of riding camps.  Since I was going to be so occupied those two weeks and immediately before in preparation, I wanted to make sure I had some good quality time with Josh to make up for it.  This year, we decided that Josh was old enough (and big enough) to invest in seasons passes to out local theme park Carowinds.  It was perfect! He had never been before because he wasn't big enough for many of the rides.  It is half rides and half water park.  Between the two, we had an entire day to do nothing but play together.  I think this made a tremendous difference in the amount of impact my having had to do the camps had.

Josh also got his own first pony over the summer, thanks to a friend of mine.  Little Toot is a little Shetland who was rescued out of an abusive situation.  He is small enough that Josh can lead him and take care of him all by himself.  He is the most patient pony I've EVER seen.  He's a little cautious, but he will stand and let Josh crawl all over him as he learns.  As Josh gets too big for Toot, I'm sure Bree will be ready to take over.

Our other big first this year was Disney World.  Since I just did a whole post on that, I won't go all into that again, but all the practice standing in line at Carowinds really helped prepare Josh for that aspect of Disney.

This was also the first year that Josh was really aware of Christmas and all that goes with it.  My wonderful husband decided to try to use the Santa myth for good behavior.  He even found a website called Portable North Pole where you can create a personal message for your child from Santa. While we had been dealing with a few issues, once Josh got a personal message from Santa, he thought he was set and his behavior plummeted!  Finally, I told him I was taking one of the toys he knew we had bought back to the store and he shaped up.  

Lessons Learned

Lesson learned from Santa: kids under 5 need to see it for themselves.  They need concrete proof that something is going to happen.  They won't believe that they won't get it until they see it going back to the store.  You don't want to have to wait until Christmas Day for them to see that they aren't getting what they wanted and ruin Christmas Day (and not improve their behavior until then).  So, next year, we will be doing Santa for fun as a reward after he has behaved, but use a toy he can see (that you don't mind taking back) to help with good behavior.

There were some things that were not firsts, but that we can still learn from.  

For the second year, I did a full time office job on a temporary basis.  While I enjoy the work, we realized that I really wasn't adding much income and was adding a whole lot of stress to the whole family by not having any time to take care of things or spend with Josh.  So in the future, if I do work to earn income, it will have to be part-time or from home.

Speaking of finances, this summer I had more students than normal and picked up another school horse.  But then most of them stopped for the winter and I still have all these horses to feed.  I had picked up a couple of youngsters to train when the economy was better, but now, no one is buying.  In the future, I think I will only keep horses that I can use for lessons and personal use and maybe one for training, but not have so many that I don't have guaranteed income from.

After a few trips this year, we figured out that driving, while cheaper, also requires more planning ahead and may require an overnight stop halfway to the destination to give everyone a break.  Let the kids spend the afternoon running off their pent-up energy so they will sleep that night and be ready to sit in the car again the next day.  Also, once the kids are old enough to watch full length movies, a DVD player with a car charger is a GREAT tool!  One note: if you have someone in your family that gets motion sickness or otherwise does not do well on ling car trips, go ahead and invest in plane tickets.  While you'll have to spend more money, you'll enjoy your vacation much more if everyone is healthy for it.

Lasagna Recipe

Here is the recipe I used this week.  Everyone loved it- even Josh!  The original recipe is by Ann Hodgman and is on the Wonder Time website.  If you are planning to use this recipe for freezing, you can prepare the individual parts ahead (meat, sauce, veggies)or the entire thing.

Ingredients:
1 pound ground beef or ground turkey (or cooked chicken, Italian sausage, seafood, andouille, etc.)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
26 to 28 ounces (about 3 cups) pasta sauce
Salt and peppe
r 2 tablespoons red wine (optional)
1 cup chicken stock
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons white wine (optional)
12 ounces (3 cups) freshly grated mozzarella
6 to 8 no-boil lasagna noodles
2 cups cooked, well-drained broccoli, spinach, peas, or other vegetables (optional)
1 cup (about 4 ounces) freshly grated parmesan

1.  Heat oven to 400. Grease a 9-by-13-inch pan. Thoroughly cook the ground beef, garlic, and herbs in a large skillet, stirring frequently and breaking up the meat. Stir in pasta sauce and bring to a simmer for about 2 minutes. Season to taste and add the red wine, if using. Set aside.
2.  In a medium saucepan over medium heat, bring chicken stock to a boil. Add cream cheese, turn heat to low, and whisk until smooth, about 6 minutes. Season to taste and add the white wine, if using.
3.  Spoon half the meat sauce into the pan as evenly as possible. Sprinkle 1 cup grated mozzarella over the meat mixture. Top with 3 or 4 lasagna noodles. If using vegetables, toss them evenly over the noodles.
Pour the cream-cheese sauce over the noodles and cover with another cup of grated mozzarella. Arrange 3 or 4 lasagna noodles over the cheese, then spoon remaining meat mixture over noodles as evenly as possible. Top with the rest of the mozzarella and the grated parmesan.
4.  Bake until brown and bubbling, 35 to 45 minutes. (You'll need the longer cooking time if you have made and chilled the lasagna in advance.) Let cool for 10 to 15 minutes or it will be too gloppy to cut well. That would drive you crazy this late in the game.

Lasagna Success!

I'm so excited!  Tonight was my first attempt at homemade lasagna.  I have been wanting to try to make it forever.  It seems to be a staple for a lot of people who like to make food ahead- you can cook the meat and veggies ahead or the whole thing.  I was a little nervous about how difficult it would be and the results.  I found a recipe (thanks to the  Life as MOM website) that was not only fairly easy, but includes TWO cups of vegetables!!  The lasagna recipe I used was written by Ann Hodgman and can be found at the Wonder Time website.

It took a little longer to make than I was hoping but I think that, with some practice, I should be able to put it together in under half an hour.  You can also adjust the recipe for which type of meat you want in it (or none at all) and which vegetables you use.  I used whole wheat lasagna noodles and spinach, mushrooms and onions as my vegetables.  Even Josh ate it (except some of the mushrooms- I'll chop them up smaller next time)!

Of course I forgot to take pictures until I had already served out our dinner, but you can still see some of the layering and the browned cheese on top.  A note: I went out to feed the horses while it was baking and that took a little longer than usual due to the cold.  When I came back in, the timer was going off (I don't know for how long), so my cheese is a little more browned than it should be.  Luckily it wasn't "burned" and was just delicious!  I'll definitely be adding this to my favorites list!

We have pictures!

Mike is still doing "computery stuff" to our technology, but he did upload the Disney pictures for me.  Enjoy!

At the entrance to the Swiss Family Robinson Tree House

See that bottle of water?  We bought one & refilled it at water fountains all day.  They will even give you ice in a cup at the restaurants for free.  We had Josh take a drink every time we were in line to make sure he stayed hydrated.  Parents, too.  Sometimes we forget that we are susceptible to the heat, too!

With Donald- wait time: 5 minutes

The GIANT Buzz Lightyear Statue at our hotel. 
Can you see Josh by his foot?  He had as much fun with these as he did at the park!

Surprising Daddy from in between the blocks

Being scared of the dinosaur

Josh "as big as Buzz"

Meeting Mickey & Minnie

This was the only one we waited for, but they played cartoons for the people waiting in line in Toon Town.

Josh & Mike with the castle
Josh is squirming because the sun was in his eyes.

Josh telling Goofy his pirate joke. 
We happened to see Goofy by The Pirates of the Caribbean ride.  We waited about 7 minutes and this is his FAVORITE character!

The castle lit up with "ice" at night

Well, those are the best of our pictures!  For some reason, we didn't get any good pictures of the parades, which Josh loved.  If you go somewhere fun, don't forget your camera so you can look back on these precious and all too quickly gone moments!

What Do You Think?

I have been thinking that, for any tips and such that I come up with to be truly useful, people have to be able to find them.  Unfortunately, since this isn't a regular website (I'm not that far along in my own journey yet), the format is a bot limited.

If you will bear with me while I experiment some with formatting and such, hopefully we'll end up with a page that is practical, helpful and accessible.  I would be more than happy to hear from anyone who has ideas either for setup or for future topics!  And let me know what you think about what I come up with.

Lessons From Disney

OK, I realize that I said I was going to post this almost a week ago.  I was hoping to put some pictures of our trip in this post.  However, my husband has been in the midst of cleaning off and backing up our hard drive and other computery stuff, so I'll have to add them later.

One thing that being a teacher's kid and now a parent is that I see teachable moments everywhere.  Of course, most people are referring to opportunities to teach their children when they say this, but there are plenty of things that we grown-ups can learn, too.  As we get farther into this adventure called parenting, I'm thinking that we should take note of the things we learn so that we can avoid or better handle similar situations in the future.

Last week, we went to Florida to visit my family.  While there, we took our son Josh, who is now four, to Disney World for the first time.  We chose this year for 2 reasons; 1. He is a little more mature this year to handle things like waiting in line (and had some practice at a local theme park over the summer) and 2. Next year we will have a baby to carry around.

Last year, we had taken him to SeaWorld.  We decided to start there because it is more spectator focused (shows and exhibits) and less ride focused.  At three years old, having places to stop and sit and watch something interesting kept him rested enough that he lasted the whole day.  He also wanted to stay and spend the night ;)  Even with SeaWorld, which is not quite as overwhelming and extravagant as Disney, we did not make it to everything he wanted to see in one day.  Luckily, our tickets were part of a special and we were able to come back the next day for free.  The drawback was that we had to drive 2 hours each way to my aunt's house in between since a second day was not in our original plans.

Taking what we learned from SeaWorld and applying it this year helped.  We went ahead and planned for 2 days, knowing that Disney is even bigger with even more stuff than SeaWorld.  Thanks to some of my Disney Fanatic friends, I went online and found a discounted package to stay at one of the Disney resorts.  It really was no more than staying at a regular hotel (we stayed at the All-Star Movies resort for $82).  All of the Disney resorts include free transportation to any of their parks.  Bonus 1: their transportation takes you almost right to the gate- no having to walk miles and search for your car at the end of a long day.  Bonus 2: we didn't feel like we had to squeeze everything into one day, so we were more relaxed weren't rushing our little man from one thing to the next.

As I planned our trip, I saw a couple of interesting things on Disney's website.

Fast Pass
Some of the more popular rides have kiosks for a "Fast Pass".  Your stick your ticket into the kiosk and it gives you a ticket with a one hour time block during which you can come back and skip at least part of the line.  You can only have one fast pass at a time, so we recommend picking one or two favorites or the ones with the longest wait times.  Then you can spend the time until you can use your pass going on some of the rides with shorter lines.  We even went on one of the rides we had a pass for while we waited for our time.

Rider Swap
Some of the rides have an option called Rider Swap.  This is for parents who have one child big enough for a ride and one who isn't.  One parent can wait in line with the child going on the ride, then the second parent can go on the ride with him without waiting in line again.  We will definitely be making use of this the next time we go.


There were some things that we did not find out about on the Disney website:

1.  You can bring your own food and drinks!  We saw many parents breaking out their non-Disney food to snack on with their kids.
2.  You can take the monorail to Downtown Disney which is outside of the parks and has cheaper food prices while still in the Disney theme.
3.  If you get a package with a hotel stay and park visit, you have to go to the hotel to get your park ticket! I was lucky I called their customer service line for something else or we would not have known!


 A few things we learned while there:

1.  If you have a young or rambunctious child, there are two freeplay areas where they can get out some of their energy- there is a playground for kids 5 and under in Toon Town and Tom Sawyer's Island in Frontier Land.  We didn't figure out that these were needed until day 2.  Even though the rides are fun, they are very structured: stand in line here, now sit here and do this.  Young kids (and boys of any age) need some free time to run and explore with no limitations.
2.  Riding the train around the park is a great way to get a kid to rest who is tired but doesn't want a nap.  You can ride it around as many times as you want.  It takes about 20 minutes to circle the park.
3.  Be selective about waiting in line to see characters.  We skipped any that were too long in favor of spending our time doing fun stuff.  We did not get to see Buzz Lightyear, one of Josh's favorites (the line was over an hour) but we saw all of his other favorites- we happened upon Donald and Goofy in unadvertised places with short lines and took advantage.  He even got some extra time with Goofy and relished the moment.
4.  When selecting a souvenir, make sure you think about how you're going to get it home, especially if you are flying!


Most of all, remember to enjoy the moment!
Your kids will not be this young and exuberant for long.  Go at THEIR pace.  Remember that you are there to have fun and this is THEIR time.  Don't worry if they don't get to see everything.  They won't even know it's there unless you tell them.  Just relax and have fun- take some breaks if they need it.  If spending time enjoying your kids is the focus rather than doing everything in the park, you will have a much more enjoyable time.

Don't Get Ahead Of Yourself

As you may know, I am at the end of my contracting office job.  Knowing that I'm on the brink of being able to get to work... to get my life back in order, I have been looking online for some ideas of exactly what and how I want to do that.  I have put links to my favorites in various categories in my sidebar.  My top 3 for useful information on money and home are Money Saving Mom, Life as Mom, and Life...Your Way.  Between them, they have ideas on just about every aspect of life.

They have so many great ideas, that I have been itching to get started.  I said in my last post that I was going to try to attempt "freezer cooking" this weekend as I attempt to plan ahead to save time and money.  However, I forgot one little thing... CHRISTMAS!! 

How in the world could I forget Christmas!?!  Actually, it's not that I forgot Christmas itself (especially with a four year old), but I overlooked how much of my schedule becomes devoted to it this time of year.  Our church has several ways of celebrating the birth of our Savior, and I am involved in most of them, so there is at least one event per week that I need to help with or prepare for until Christmas day.  In addition, my father has decided just this week that he is going to come up for the week before.  There goes all that extra time I thought I'd have.

So, a quick revision to my plan is in order.  Remember that post on Importance and Immediacy?  Well, with visitors coming, having the overall house look good has jumped in both categories and having it well organized has dropped a couple of notches in due date.  Now, instead of going through all of my cabinets and closets to organize, I might be using them to stash stuff until our guests are gone.  After that, it won't matter if the living room looks like a tornado hit it when I pull everything out to sort through it all.

My plans for an organized life are still in place, and I WILL get to them, but you can't JUST plan for the future.  You also have to live right now.  Don't get ahead of yourself and miss today while looking to tomorrow.

Freezer Cooking

One of the things I had planned on doing in order to make sure we are being responsible with our money is to go through my freezer, pantry and cupboards to take inventory and make my meal plans to use up as much as possible, rather than buying new stuff and allowing what we already have to expire.  Anything that's close to it's expiration date already will be taken to a local food pantry where I know it will be used.

I have been looking around online at blogs and websites geared toward parenting, organization and saving money.  Several of them have mentioned "freezer cooking".  FishMama at www.lifeasmom.com uses this method to cook most of her dinners for an ENTIRE MONTH over a week(end)!  Sounds good to me!

You start out by taking inventory of what you have, then use that list to come up with ideas of what you could make with those foods.  Check your local sales circulars and coupons as you are brainstorming for maximum savings.  Then, when you go to the store, you are only buying the missing items, rather than the whole recipe's worth of ingredients.

When you get home, organize your supplies by dish and get cooking!  Not everything has to be a complete dish.  FishMama also freezes parts of meals that are better when fresh.  She has recipes for pizza dough, which can be frozen in balls, then baked fresh and shredded chicken, which she marinates, cooks and shreds, then freezes to add to fresh veggies later. 

Once the cooking is done, divide dishes into single dinner portions and freeze.  All you have to do after that is take out the meal you want to eat the night before so it has time to thaw out before you need it.  Add a side of fresh veggies and you have a quick and healthy meal even on a busy night.

This weekend, we will be doing some holiday preparations like getting our tree (yay!), but I'm hoping to get started on this as well. I'll let you know how it goes.

Also, while visiting my family in Florida, we took Josh to Disney for the first time! I'll post about our "Lessons from Disney" later, but I did want to include a link to a helpful website I just found- who knew?  It's called Disneyfamily.com, but the website address is a little different, so use the link.

Worth the Money

So I am learning that there are some things that are worth investing a little more money in.

Some items, like jewelry, clothing, furniture and carpeting, will last longer if they are made of quality materials.  And while sometimes you can find a competent service person who does not charge as much as their competitors, make sure you check out samples of their past work before you sign them on.   

One drawback to owning a farm is that, if you ever want a break, you have to make sure that there will be someone there to care for the animals when you are gone.  With house pets, they just need to be fed and maybe let out; with horses, there is much more care involved.

When my family and I went on vacation this past week, I left my two working students in charge (paying them for taking care of the horses while we were gone).  They should be pretty familiar with what the horses need and what I expect from them at this point.  Imagine my reaction when I return home to find that the horses in the field have no water and their stalls look like they haven't been cleaned in days!?!

So, from now on, I will be hiring a professional for the horses, if we ever dare to leave again.

However, all this got me thinking... there are some things that you can do yourself, some things you can get help from friends (or students) with and some things that you just need to pay the extra money and have a professional do for you.

Even when you are trying to save money, it is cheaper to have someone do the work correctly the first time than having it done incorrectly (even if all you are paying for is supplies) and then having to have a professional go back and fix it later.  When sizing up a task, be sure to evaluate if it is something you can do yourself (or with a friend) or if it is something better left to those with training & experience.

Being Thankful

I know.  At this time of year everyone is talking about this, but there's a reason.  All too often, as we trudge through our daily lives, we forget to stop and appreciate all the things that are good in our lives.  I heard a great analogy today (in regards to something else, but it fits).

The speaker said it was as if she had blinders on.  She could not see anything on either side of her, only what was directly ahead.  I know that I can very easily get caught up in my to-do list: what's the next things I HAVE to do, ok, what's the Next thing I have to do, and I go from one "have to do" item to the next without even looking up.

So, I want you to take a moment to stop all of your doing and going.  Take a look around and see- really see- what you have.
Do you have someone who loves you?  Think of your friends and family.
Are you and those you love healthy?  Think of the things you can do with that great body of yours.
Do you have a passion in your life?  Think of the things that bring you joy.
Is there beauty in your life?   Think of the beautiful fall leaves out your window.

We all have something to be thankful for.  I bet that if we stopped more than once a year to remember that, we'd be much happier and contented people.   Today I am thankful for my son and his unabashed love (knowing that one day he will be more reluctant to show it) and for my husband who is so patient and supportive when I least deserve it and for my God who somehow loves me even more than my two boys do.

Google Calendar

OK, so I've tried it out for a week.  I'm not totally sold.

What I like
I do like that it's online and therefore available anytime, anywhere (even if I forget my calendar at home).  I also like that you can color code your different "calendars" so each family member could have their own color, or you could color code items for importance or work/personal, etc.

What I don't like
It does have "tasks" so you can make a to-do list, but I can't find a way to make more than one list.  You can make lots of "calendars" if you know when you want to do something, but what if I need to make some lists first so I can schedule them.  I need a list of house chores, barn chores, house projects, stuff for Josh.  These don't all start out scheduled.  I need to know what all is there so I can figure out when I can get to them.

It emails you reminders about your events for the day but it seems like, if you're going to be online to check your email, you could just look at the calendar yourself.

Something else to try
Mike said he uses Outlook since they have it at his work.  He can coordinate between work and home and even sync his phone up with it (for those of you who have smart phones).  I don't know if you can color code calendar items, but you can make multiple task lists and, if you sync it up with your phone, set alarms to remind yourself of appointments and things.

I'll look around and see if there is something that can do all 3 of these things.  I must admit, I'm still a paper organizer girl at heart, but with my memory, I like the idea of having something that I can't forget at home.

The Beginning is in Sight

I know, it's supposed to be "the end is in sight," but for me, the end of my office job means the beginning of getting my life in order.

Our team has processed the majority of work and the only ones left are those which require outreach to customers for more information. I'm hoping we can get those calls made (and responded to) before Thanksgiving.  I'll be gone the following week, so it is actually possible that I will either be done or only have a few more days of work once I get back.

I had mentioned before that I needed to take the time to really set my priorities in order to decide how to make my schedule.  I read a couple of great articles about priorities and time management by Crystal on the Money Saving Mom blog.

She is a Christian as well and pointed out that she makes sure to spend time with God every day and when she prays over her day, she asks him to bless it and "multiply" her hours.  She said that, when she does that, she is always amazed at how much more productive her day is.  Starting out the day with God not only creates a better relationship with and understanding of Him, but it also gets you in the right mind set to deal with whatever challenges the day will bring.

Another thing she mentioned was that one of the things most of us leave out when we get overloaded is sleep.  We try to stay up one more hour, get one more thing done.  Funny thing is, getting enough sleep can help us get more done in a shorter time because we are more alert and our rested brain is able to process things better and faster.

Crystal also brought up the idea of a "Time Budget".  Most of us have a budget for our money and can clearly see how that makes sense.  You start with the money you have coming in, then take out money for things you need/want to pay for.  You can't take out more than you put in without going into debt.  Why don't we do this with our time?  When making schedules, we usually start with a list of all the things we want to do and try to cram them into our day, whether they fit or not.

We go into "debt": usually paid for by lack of sleep, wasting money and health on fast food and cutting out time with our families.  What we should be doing is starting with our 24 hour day and taking out sleep and other necessities.  Only put other tasks on the calendar if there is actually room for them.  Setting your priorities first will help you decide which items need to be left out.  Don't forget to leave some wiggle room for unexpected things that come up (Crystal suggests 2 hours).

In this last week or two of my office job, I'm going to be looking at what my calendar should look like once I don't have that on it any more.  I'm going to start with making sure I have scheduled enough time for sleep & quiet time with God.

Resources

As I've mentioned before, two of the biggest challenges (for me, at least) are time and finances.  I'm going to spend some time researching good sources for tips and help in these areas and any others that you find useful.  If anyone has any good ideas or knows of a good website, etc for that kind of thing, please feel free to post a link.  I'll post links to any good ones I find as well.  There are so many good ideas out there!

One helpful idea that I found was for google calendar (www.google.com/calendar).  I had no idea there was such a thing. It's similar to the outlook calendar but it's online so you can access it (and update it) from anywhere- you'll never have "left it at home" as long as you can get on the internet.  It emails you when you have an appointment coming up.  of course, that's only helpful if you're on the computer.  I'll give it a try and let you know how it works.

A few other sites I have found that have lots of tips and ideas:
www.organizedmom.net
www.lifeorganizers.com
www.moneysavingmom.com
I have included helpful blogs on my blog list.  Hope these help!


I'm looking forward to seeing everyone's ideas and findings!

A Good Start

Just wanted to post a quick note about how the weekend went, since I was planning on "finally getting to it".

Thanks to my amazing husband, who helped me with some of my "to-dos" rather than working on his own, I was able to get the barn cleaned up and the house halfway presentable before my friend arrived. Luckily, she's pretty laid back and understands the lack of time to get everything done all too well, so I knew she wouldn't mind the piles of stuff I still have to go through.  I still have a long way to go before things are where I want them, but at least I can see the improvement from where we started.

Bonus: Josh has even started picking his toys up when he sees that we're "cleaning house".  I told him that, when the house gets clean, he can invite his friends over.

Finally getting to it

After two weekends in a row of having my catch-up/clean-up plans put on hold, I am so relieved looking at this weekend!  I'm finally getting over the cold I've had for a week and we have no other plans in place. 

Of course, with a massive undertaking like I've got on my hands, the first question is usually, "Where do I start?"  For this weekend, that has been answered for me.  A breeder I know is going to be stopping overnight with some of her young horses on the way to Florida for the convention for their breed.  It will be her first visit to my little farm and I want it to look taken care of.  That means this will be a weekend full of fence fixing, branch burning (if they're not too wet), and cleaning and organizing in the barn. 

We've also finally gotten most of our work for the office project I've been doing.  My supervisor has said that, as the workload lessens, I can cut my hours back.  With the barn and land work done after this weekend (hopefully), I can use that time to begin work on the house.

It's a little sad how excited I am, but I just imagine my home neat and organized and how peaceful and relaxing that will be!

Take 5

It's amazing what just five minutes can do.  In five minutes you can:
-load the dishwasher
-start a load of laundry
-water your houseplants
-say a prayer
-read a chapter in the Bible
-get really upset
-sit in a quiet spot, take some deep breaths & calm yourself down

  My time has been so limited lately that I have felt like I couldn't get anything done, so I often haven't done anything.  Since my schedule hasn't changed yet but I want to go ahead and start catching up on things, I have been trying to think of what I CAN do.  So, I'm going to take five minutes; in the morning, when I get home and before bed to get three things done.  That may not seem like much, but it's three more things than I have been getting done.

Importance and Immediacy

  Once upon a time, I was a business major.  Scary, I know.  However, I did learn a few useful things amidst the hours of sheer boredom.  One of the lessons that has not completely left me is that of importance and immediacy.  Of course, as with many other useful tidbits, it had been filed away in the deep recesses of my somewhat foggy memory until this weekend, when I was trying to make a plan to get things done and torn between two things that both needed to be done.
  The basic idea is that you rate things not by one scale, but by two.  You rate things that need to be done on importance: high = MUST be done, medium = Should be done, low = Not necessary (even if it's something you'd like to do). You also rate them on immediacy: this scale you can adjust so it's easy for you to think about.  An example would be; Now, Soon & Later or Today, This Week, This Month.  Once you have rated everything on both scales, you can easily choose which tasks to prioritize.  You can even put them in a chart for an easy visual.
  As I remembered this organizational tool, it occurred to me that this can be a TREMENDOUS help in trying to get control of my chaos.  I can use it for scheduling, for making a plan to keep the house clean, for planning long term goals, etc.  I plan on using it alot. I hope it helps you as well.
  

Where does my Help come from?

  The other day, Psalm 121:1-2 got stuck in my head- all day! Of course, it started with hearing the song version on the radio, but the words stuck with me.  "I lift my eyes up to the hills. Where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord- Maker of heaven and earth."

  It got me thinking: what would that help look like?  We know that he can give us peace in our distress and clarity in our chaos, but what about practical help?  When Jesus walked the earth, he offered physical help. He fed people who were hungry and healed those who were sick.  If God is the same now as he always has been, then He must still offer practical help, not just emotional.

  As I pondered, it occurred to me that he often uses his people to meet needs.  When forming the church, he designed it so that all of the people, who have different strengths and weaknesses could work together to make the church fully functional. Without the business-minded people, the budget would never be made or held to.  Without those called to study and preach, we would not learn more about God than what we can discern for ourselves.  Without the creative people, there would not be music to worship to.  The church needs all kinds of people.

  I'm wondering if He designed not just the church, but families to work this way as well.  In my family, Mike is the detailed, logical one, so he does the finances, and I'm the organizer (Funny, I know, when I'm having problems with chaos), so I schedule appointments and organize the house, etc.

  If I look beyond my home, my mom is the creative one and she actually enjoys cleaning!  I also have a working student who enjoys gardening.  Perhaps we can help each other.  I can help my mom organize her schedule and craft supplies and she can help me deep clean (after I've gotten the mess under control).  and maybe I can have my working student do her work in the garden rather than in the barn.  Together, we'll have 2 clean organized homes with beautiful gardens and my student will enjoy both her working time and the riding time she earns.

  How can you pool your resources with others to help enhance everyone's life?

The Big Picture

  I know that there are many, many moms out there who would love to stay home with their children but for whom that simply isn't an option.  I have been very blessed.  I have a very supportive husband who has told me that it's my decision and who earns an income we can live on- if we're wise in our spending.

  If I do stay home, I'm going to have to make sure that it is without putting my family (particularly Mike) under financial strain.  To do that, I am going to have to cut some costs.  The first thing I'm going to have to do is sell some horses.  The difficulty comes in choosing which ones.  The second thing I need to do is make sure we are staying on a budget.  My friend Chrystal does a great job of finding ways to stretch her family's budget.  I'll have to get some tips from her.

  Looking at my jobs, I have been wondering if I'm even making money with them.  Income from riding lessons varies greatly depending on weather and the economy.  The horses however, could not care less.  They still eat the same amount of food, still need their hooves trimmed, etc.  So, is it really worth hanging on to all of these sweet, beautiful money pits? Probably not.  One advantage to having my own barn is that, if I sell some of my horses, stalls become available for boarding other people's horses.  Hmmm... that may be an option.

  As for my "office job," while it pays more without the overhead, it is also more hours.  I can't bring Josh to work with me like I can at the barn, so I see him less (a LOT less) and have to pay for extra childcare.  It's also about 45 minutes away, so add extra time and gas money for that.  Since I don't have time to take care of the barn or work with the horses, I have to hire someone to do that.  Put these all together and suddenly it doesn't look so appealing.  Luckily, this particular job is on a contract basis, so I can simply say I'm unavailable if offered another project after the one I'm currently working on.

  Perhaps, once I've gotten some control over my chaos, I'll look at doing something part-time from home, but I think my days of full-time are coming to a close.  I have to remember that there is a bigger picture. One with a precious little boy, a sweet & handsome man, and another sweet little one who will soon be joining them.

Pay Attention!

  So I'm up at 4:00 because the dogs HAD to go out at 3:00 (no telling). After spending the last hour or so unsuccessfully trying to go back to sleep, I figured I'd do something I CAN get done.

  Over the weekend, I have put a lot of thought into what my goals and priorities are or should be.  One thing I realized was that, although my heart tells me my son is my highest priority, my mind tells me that he can't be.  For one thing, if I put all of my focus and energy into him, as so many other parents find themselves doing, there will be nothing guiding the rest of my life and there will be no energy left for myself or my husband.

  At our house, we have been struggling the last couple of weeks with listening.  I don't know if it's because I haven't had enough time with him or because he's four...maybe both.  For the most part, Josh is a good kid. He has his drama and his strong-willed side (which, I have to admit, are my contributions to his personality) but he shares and takes turns and is respectful to others.  What we have run into is this phase where, when asked to do something, he says okay and then happily proceeds to something entirely different or just keeps doing whatever he was doing.  We've also been trying to work on having him respond when we ask a question, rather than repeating it until he gives an answer.  I've discovered that half the time, if I ask him what I said, he can't tell me.

  Realizing that none of this is new to most parents, it got me thinking.  I know that my first priority should be God.  I know that he has a plan for my life and that, should I follow that plan, that would be the best version of my life.  The question is, am I making Him the top priority in my life or am I making my family and my giant to-do list my priority.  It seems that, as happens to many others I know, I have gotten so bogged down in the immediate, I have forgotten that there is MORE to this life.  How am I supposed to follow God's leading in my life, when I'm too distracted to hear even if he's talking to me?  Just as my son doesn't hear me if the tv is on in the background, I can't hear God over the din of my chaos.

  So, my first priority MUST be to set aside some daily time to listen to someone who knows more about this world than I do.  Only then will I have the help and guidance I need to keep myself (and my life) focused so that I can attend to my second priority, which is my family.  All of the other things; a clean house, being healthy, even things I want do, come after those and out of them.  How?  Because I want my family to be able to have friends over and have a mom who is healthy enough to run and play and for us to show compassion and to go and experience new things together.

  One thing I have learned about God over the years is that he is a big fan of relationships.  His word is filled with wisdom about how we should relate to each other.  He shows us how we can show love and support even during difficult times.  As I get my schedule and such in order, I want to use the time that becomes available to develop those deep bonds with my family and friends that he illustrates for us.   To take the time to show the people I love just how much I care.  I'm sure that, if I pay attention to Him, these are the things He would want me to focus on.

No time to be

   So...my life is chaos.  No, really.  I'm always running, always stressed and always tired.  I've been so busy playing "catch up" that I haven't had time to play with my son.  I haven't caught up either.  I've had no time to be a wife, a mom, a friend, anything other than busy.
   I don't want this to be my life...or my family's.  Things have got to change.  NOW.

   I'm starting this blog as part journal for my own sanity and part in hopes that some of my trial and triumph can help encourage others who find themselves mired in the same much I have been.
   As someone once said, "take heart in knowing that, when you're knee-deep in one of those days, you're not alone."
   I have realized that scheduling is the main source of my stress and lack of time.  But I have also realized that it is more than that.  What I put in my schedule and what I leave out of it should reflect my goals and priorities.  Right now, that is not the case.
   The first thing I need to do is sit down and consider.  What do I want for my life?  For my family?  What are the deep seeded longings of my heart? Who do I want to be?  The answers to these questions will help me determine what my schedule should look like.