Last week's project...

Hey, Howdy, Hey!

How was your weekend?  

Ours was a ton of busy and fun.  We did a little traveling for a soccer tournament.  It was most enjoyable.  What did you get into?  

I'm really excited to show you this post.  I've been eager to share this since I finished it up.  

I don't know about you but my house feels a lot cozier when I'm working on my project list.  In the really busy times my list grows and grows but when things are a bit calmer I love to get to work checking things off.  

After the goings on we've had recently my project list is l-o-n-g.  I'm thankful to have my honey and my son feeling well now and I'm very happy to be able to spend a little time working on my projects.  

The first project I wanted to get to was our front door.  This door had been driving me nuts for quite some time.  I had attempted to re-stain it once before but my efforts were in vain.  The sun just bakes this door.  (FYI - I'm not a fan of wooden doors if you are living in the south.)

Here's what I was dealing with.

  

Isn't that terrible?  What I hated most about it was that it was our front door -the first thing people see when they come to our home!  I personally think the front door says a lot about your home.  To me, it's like your teeth.  No one wants to smile real big and have a piece of spinach stuck in their teeth.  This front door was like that piece of spinach to me.

The stain had peeled and cracked horribly so the very first thing I had to do was sand the door.  The sanding wasn't as bad as I feared it would be.  I got the first two steps done on the same day.  I didn't snap a picture after I sanded the door but you can imagine that.  Here's what the door looked like after I put the primer on.  

The kids kept asking, "So we're painting the door white?" and I had to keep saying, "nooo".  Every single one of them would stop by where I was working at a different time and say something about the door being white.  No one wanted to criticize but you could tell they were questioning my color choice -all except the three year old.  She jumped up and down clapping and said, "Oh, Mommy the door looks so pretty".  Three year olds are so good for your confidence.  If you don't have one you should look into getting one.  

I let the primer dry over night and on day two I started the fun part, the painting (the right color).  

Here's the finished door.  I couldn't be happier with how it turned out. 

It was a four day project but worth every bit of time and effort.  The entire front of our house looks sooo much better.  I can't even back out of the driveway without pausing to admire my work.  I know, how terrible of me to brag like this.  So sorry.  I'm just completely thrilled that one of my projects turned out just right.  Not all of them do, you know!

No more ugly, peeling, cracking door.

Yay!!

Now I'm headed back to my project list to see what's next.  What projects are you working on?  

How to Get the Most Out of Your Day

Start your day with prayer.  There's nothing better.  Some time alone talking to God is the single most important thing you can do.

Decide what's MOST important.  We are not superwomen with super powers (we try) so we are not going to be able to do everything there is to possibly do.  You'll get more out of each and every day if you really focus on what is of the utmost importance.  Your relationship with God should be ranked first, followed by your husband, and kids, then all the other things in your life.

Make a "Top 3" list.  Every morning make a list of the top 3 things you really want to see accomplished by the end of the day.  If nothing else gets done except those 3 (and the children are still alive) then you know you got some important things done.  I have written some crazy stuff down on my Top 3 list before. Different seasons of life call for different lists.  When I brought our sixth child home from the hospital there were days I would write on my list 1. Eat something healthy, 2.  Shower,  3. Read a book to the kids.  I was breastfeeding our newest addition and literally would forget to eat.  That doesn't work.  I would want to know that I did at least one thing for the kids so I would write on my top 3 to read a book to them.  If it was on my list then I would make it happen.  Write down three things you really, really want done today.  Anything else you accomplish will be a bonus!

Get dressed first thing.  If you want to get a lot out of your day you can't be lurking around in your pajamas.  As soon as you wake up get showered and dressed.  It's all too tempting to grab a cup of coffee and snuggle into your favorite spot or to head right into your work and find yourself still in your pjs at lunchtime.  Take a few minutes and get yourself ready at the start of the day.  Once you are dressed your brain knows it's time to get moving.  As long as you are in your pajamas your brain and body feel a little too comfortable.  There are two things that get my brain/body in go mode - shoes and a bra.  I mean, I wear other things but those two items help me get to work faster and better than if I didn't have them on.  

Break large tasks into smaller ones.  These days it takes me forever to finish a project.  It's sad, but true.  Here's what I've found:  If a project seems huge to me I will just keep putting it off.  Some things just keep getting moved to the next day's to-do list, and then the next, and the next.  In addition to taking care of our family and home, and teaching my children, I'm currently running a taxi service for my husband and my sons.  It is a necessary (major) interruption to my day.  I've finally come to realize that I must break big jobs into little ones if I am ever going to get anything accomplished.

Be thankful.  Through it all and in it all remain thankful.  As you are cleaning your home be thankful that you have a home to live in.  While you cook and wash dishes give thanks to God for the food you have to eat.  As you are training and teaching your children be thankful for the sweet ones God has given you to raise.  When you work on the laundry, or in the garden, or clean the bathrooms, try to spend some time reflecting on all the ways God has blessed you.  Think of those women who want children so badly and have none.  Lest you be tempted to complain about all the work you have to do, think about how blessed you are to be here to do it.  I'm really preaching to myself.  It's easy to get overwhelmed and want to throw a pity party.  Believe me, I understand.  Some days I just want to cry because I have so much work to do and what seems like no way to do it all.  God has given us Himself.  We are not alone in our work and we need only to ask for His ever present help.  Being thankful for all that you have will help you get much more our of your day - far more than if we complain.  There is always, always something to be thankful for!  Try praising God for your work and see if you don't get more out of your day.

Give yourself a fun break.  If you want to get a lot out of your day it can't be all work and no play.  Stop what you are doing at some point and go for a walk, or look through a catalog, or read a book you've been wanting to get your hands on.  Set a timer so you don't get lost.  I find it perfectly acceptable, (I recommend it actually), to stop working for a little while and go get a Pumpkin Spice Latte.  Work really hard all morning - take a break mid day for a latte - work really hard all afternoon.  It makes sense to me!  Everyone needs a pick-me-up once in a while.  If you are working on some difficult tasks it is nice to know you have something to look forward to.  Tell yourself to work to a certain point and then reward yourself when you get there.

There's my list.  Now, how about yours?  Share with my readers and me your best tip for getting the most out of your day.

Hello and Happy Friday!

I want to introduce you to some super cute dolls and also answer the question I mentioned the last time I wrote.  I didn't get to post regularly this week, or show you any trouble spots as I had planned.  Sometimes (a lot of times recently) things don't go as planned.

As far as my plan to "do less" in 2014...check!  I nailed that this week.

Back to the super sweet, handmade, adorable dolls my sister is making.

Here's a little peek...

 Aren't they just darling?  She loves to make dolls and it shows in every creative detail!

She will custom make a precious friend for your child to love.  You can find more information here.

Please go take a look at these cutie pie dolls and help me spread the word by "liking" KNIT KNACK PADDY CRAFT ON FACEBOOK.  Thank you!!



The last time I posted I shared with you my cleaning schedule.  I told you I would explain how I do my cleaning around our homeschooling.  It's not a big revelation and I don't have a special creative formula.  This is just how I do things and for us, for now, it works (most of the time).

I pick one thing to work on each day because I no longer have time to clean the entire house all at once.  I focus on one area of our home and aim to get that clean.  If I get anything extra done it's a bonus!

I'll take you through the week...

Monday is bathroom cleaning.  We typically do school work until some time between two and four in the afternoon.  Dinner is scheduled for six.  After school and before dinner, while the children are playing, I will clean the bathrooms.  We have 2 1/2 baths and by cleaning them lightly each day the deep clean doesn't take very long.  There are many Mondays when my oldest son and my honey help with this chore and we get it done in record time.

On Tuesday I clean the kitchen.  This is a big chore but I work on it throughout the day.  While the kids are eating either breakfast or lunch I will run a sink full of hot soapy water and clean out the refrigerator while chatting with them.  I throw out the old stuff and wipe down the shelves.  I wipe off the exterior too.  I can usually finish the fridge in the same time it takes them to eat their meal.  During other little calm spots in the day I will go into the kitchen and do 5 - 10 minute jobs.  I can wipe counters, or sweep, or dust the spice shelf, or shake out rugs, or a number of other things in those little windows of time.  After we finish up school for the day I will do whatever work is remaining.  I move the small appliances off the counters and wash them well.  I clean the microwave, and the stove, and the dishwasher.  I wipe down the outside of all the cabinets and I clear out the hot-spot of mail that collects on the counter.  Once every couple of months I run the self clean on the oven.  By the end of Tuesday I have the kitchen cleaned.

Wednesday I clean glass.  I use paper towels and a 1/3 white vinegar, 2/3 water mix.  I clean our front and back doors and the mirrors all over the house.  If I have time before the kids get up I will try to get a few things cleaned first thing in the morning.  I'll do a few more while the kids are playing in the afternoon.  I don't clean much glass after dark because I can't see it as well.  On days we are pressed for time I will give each of the kids a different place to clean after school and we will work together quickly.  I try to do a few windows here and there too but it doesn't always happen.  The front and back door are a must because they are covered in doggy nose prints and little hand prints and other UFOs.

Thursdays are when we dust and vacuum and everyone chips in on this.  We take one hour mid morning and divide up into different rooms.  Every boy has a dusting rag and works on the room they are assigned to.  The little girls are each given a rag also and they crawl all around the house doing baseboards.  We play music and act silly.  In the afternoon we take another little chunk of time and vacuum.  Only one person can vacuum at a time but he/she will usually have a partner to move stuff and put it back.  It feels so good when we get this job done.  By doing these jobs each week things never get too terrible.

On Friday mornings the kids know if it is their Friday to strip their bed.  I remind them, of course.  As soon as they get up, those whose day it is, strip off their sheets, comforter, pillow cases and pillow shams.  They pile it all in the laundry room.  The morning starts off with one overwhelming pile but as we work on it all day long we whittle it down.  By bedtime a bunch of beds have clean sheets and the huge pile of sheets and blankets has disappeared.  The next Friday we do all the other beds.  We flip flop every other week.  I put a load of laundry in before breakfast.  We get it in the dryer as soon as the washer stops.  I immediately start the next load and we just stay right on it between spelling tests and history quizzes, etc.  (I make good use of my timers on Fridays.)

At one point I didn't think I could ever get used to cleaning this way.  Now I prefer it.  For many years I had a cleaning day.  I cleaned the entire house, top to bottom, on one special day of the week.  I didn't think I could ever accept breaking up the cleaning over several days.  I believed the house would never feel completely clean all at once.  Over time, as our family grew and our homeschooling became more involved, circumstances forced me to start breaking up my cleaning day a little bit.  I eventually got to the point where I preferred to clean the way I do now.  This method enables me to keep the house more or less clean all the time.  The cleaning jobs don't take gigantic amounts of time because the cleaning is done in a cycle.  If I have to miss a day (or two or three like this week) it's no big deal because I know I will get to it the next week when that day rolls around.  If we have special plans I can double up on something or eliminate something and get it next time.  If you are homeschooling and you're having trouble figuring out when to clean house try breaking your cleaning into five parts and do a little bit each day.  There are all kinds of ways you can do it.  I hope this helps.

Have a warm and cozy weekend!

How do I do it all? I don't!

The questions I am asked most frequently are about how I get everything done.  I tend to shy away from this question because I don't have it all together, or figured out, and don't want to appear that I do.  I keep it real with you girls when writing this blog.  I'm not going to pretend it's easy to keep a house full of people organized and clean.  Most days, if you dropped in, you would find our dining room to be a mess with a table full of school books and pencils and paper.  You would find dishes in my sink and piles of laundry to be sorted and washed.  You would find toys all. over. the. place.  Things are not perfect here.

When I started this blog I decided I would write about home and as I found a way to do things that works for me, I would share it.  I'm sharing my cleaning schedule, which is reformed often, to help answer that dreaded question, "How do you do it all?".  I don't do it all perfectly.  Some days I don't even do it and many days I do it all wrong.  So there.  If you are looking for perfect homemaking you've come to the wrong blog.  I will give you some dos and don'ts today and a look at my schedule and you can take it from there.

The first DON'T.

Don't compare yourself with other mamas.  Do your best.  If I compare myself with another mom who has fewer children I am going to experience frustration.  If I look at all she is able to accomplish and then get down on myself when I can't do that I will develop a spirit of discontentment.  A mother of six cannot compare herself to a mother of three.  For that matter, you shouldn't compare yourself with any mother regardless of the number of children.  We should share ideas, and pass on recipes, and alert our friends when there is a killer deal on say, detergent, but we shouldn't compare.  Every mom is in a different season and situation.  Mothers of two have a different home life than mothers of ten.  Mothers of teens have quite a different schedule than mothers of littles.  Mothers of teens AND littles have an entirely different thing going on all together.  Comparing with other mamas profits nothing.  Learning from other mamas - yes.  Comparing - no.

Another DON'T.

Don't try to be like anyone else.  Be you.  God created you and chose you to be the mother of your children.  Don't try to imitate another mama.  Pray and study scripture and seek to be a godly mama (and wife) to your own peeps.  Picking up ideas, seeking advice, finding tips and ideas is all good but trying to be just like so-and-so is not.

One last DON'T.

 Don't skip your time with God.

Okay, assuming you are still with me, here are some dos.

Do start each day in prayer.  The prayer of a righteous man (or woman) accomplishes much.
Do make yourself a schedule.  This is, of course, my opinion but I feel strongly about schedules.  I have found I can accomplish much more with a schedule as opposed to without.
Do let go of perfectionism.  I am a recovering perfectionist and it is not easy, but here's the deal - things are not going to be perfect and you will wear yourself out trying to get them that way.
Do get all family members on board.  Instead of you doing it all, train the children to help.  Kids as young as two can do chores.  Make sure all family members help out around the house.  The more children you have the more essential this is.  Perhaps with one child you could do everything (although I don't recommend it) but certainly with many children you cannot.  Everyone eats food - everyone helps with clean-up.  Everyone wears clothes - everyone helps with laundry.

I will leave you with my most recent cleaning schedule.  As always, I'm happy to answer your questions just send them to my inbox or leave them in a comment.

Monday - Clean bathrooms.  Our bathrooms require a daily light clean and a weekly deep clean.  Remember there are eight people here, five of which are male.
Tuesday - Clean kitchen.  I do a deep clean of the kitchen each week, including cleaning the refrigerator.  If you do this weekly it never gets too bad.
Wednesday - Clean Glass.  This is my day to work on couponing and to clean the glass (doors, windows and mirrors).  Our front and back doors have lots of glass and are usually covered with little hand prints and doggy nose prints.  I try to keep up with the windows but they get dirty so fast!
Thursday - Dust and vacuum.  I get everyone on board for this, otherwise it would take forever.  Little ones do the baseboards, the rest of us divide up and conquer the rooms.  Many hands make light work.
Friday - Change bedsheets.  We have seven beds and I do four one week and three the next.  Every bed is getting clean sheets every other Friday.
Saturday - Catch-up (garage, yard, etc.)  Depending on what's going on I sometimes use Saturdays to catch up on extra work I need to do.  During warm months we often use Saturdays to clean out the garage, wash the cars, or work in our yard.

Daily (except Sunday) - Laundry (everyone), Swiffer (Ethan), Empty trash cans (Colin), Sweep steps (Eli), Feed pets (Nic), Sweep porch (Colin), pick up toys (Clare and Olivia), make beds (everyone), straighten rooms (everyone), take out recycling (Olivia), clean-up breakfast (Ethan), clean-up lunch (everyone), clean-up dinner (Nic).

I have a feeling I know what your next question is going to be.  How do we do this cleaning while homeschooling, right?  It's not as hard as you might think.  I will answer that question in the next post.  :)

Trouble Shooting

There are these places around our house that are trouble spots for me.  I think Flylady calls them "hot spots".  For one reason or another they bug me.  Either clutter collects in these spots, or stuff piles up, or they just look messy.  The other day I tackled a couple of them and I thought I would share with you what I did.

The first one is the spot where we keep doll clothes.  

Lovely, right?  All of the clothes were kept in large Ziploc bags.  Whenever the girls play dolls they dump all of the clothes out into the floor.  Even though they are good about picking the clothes up when they are finished there was just something about this sight that got under my skin.  I decided to go to Target and find a plastic container that would be a good fit in this little section of the bookshelf to hold the doll clothes.

I was super excited when I found this since it is a perfect match to the girls' room.  Isn't that just so much more pleasing to the eye?  Ahhh...yes.

I had to laugh (and snap a pic) when I saw the way Olivia was putting everything into the container.

She is her mother's daughter.

Another trouble spot for me was the door to the girls' room.  The backpacks and tote bags and every other thing was being hung on the door handle.  Most of the time I couldn't even shut the door without removing all kinds of stuff.




As I was thinking about where to put all of these items I remembered some drapery hold backs I had purchased at a garage sale back in the summer.

I paid 25 cents for these...can you believe it?

I never intended to use these for drapes (seeing as I don't have any drapes in my entire house) but I knew they would make great hooks sometime when I needed them.  I turned one around like a J and my honey hung it in the girls closet for me, right inside the door.  The size is perfect for holding lots of stuff.  I can't think of another hook that would be able to handle so much.

I'm not sure if you can tell but there's still room for more.  This hook is sturdy and can handle the weight.  As of this posting the girls have hung a whole lot on there and one of them has been keeping her bathrobe on the hook as well.  It's a big hook!  If you come across any drapery hold backs at garage sales or consignment shops let me encourage you to pick them up.  They make fabulous hooks.  I'm already contemplating where to hang the other one.  The garage...by the back door...inside the hall closet...there are so many places where this would be useful.

I don't have time today to post about all of the trouble shooting I've been doing lately but I've decided to try to post a couple of things each week for a while.  Hopefully it will encourage and inspire you in your own efforts to organize, de-clutter, and simplify since I know that's what most all of us are doing in January!

Thanks for dropping by today.  Please visit again soon!

Top of the morning to you!

How was that weekend?  Was it a blur of activity or calm and restful?  Ours was a bit of a blur.  We did a whole lot of work, but we had a whole lot of fun.  This is the beginning of the road-map phase for us.  By that I mean our family calendar hanging on the wall in the kitchen looks like a road-map.  It will look like this from now until the end of the year.  There are lines and arrows and words written everywhere!  This is usually the way of October through December.

What's on your agenda for today?  Have you a to-do list a mile long?  I've got a nice long list staring me down but I refuse to be intimidated.  I'm going to take it one thing at a time and thoroughly enjoy every little check mark I get to make.  I've got some errands to run and groceries to buy, a whole lot of cleaning and a whole, whole lot of laundry, and school to teach.  Today will definitely be more of a work day and less of a play day but I have intentionally planned a bit of play time.  I promised the little kids if they worked diligently today we would make some Pumpkin Pie Play Dough after school.  I'll post our recipe later so you can make some too!  It's really fun, and smells really good, and the kids just love it!  Each and every day could easily fill to the brim with work so I find it best to intentionally schedule some time to play.  If I don't plan for it I will work right through.  You know what they say about all work and no play!

Do you need a little umption in your gumption this morning?  I sure did!  The book of Psalms is a good place to start.  Have a fabulous Monday!

I will bless the Lord at all times; 
His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
My soul shall make its boast in the Lord; 
The humble shall hear it and rejoice.
O magnify the Lord with me, 
And let us exalt His name together.
Psalm 34: 1-3

Just a few more thoughts on perspective...

The other day I wrote about perspective.  Today, I have just a few more things to add.

Teenagers.  If there is one area I feel a majority of people are off in their perspective, it is with teens.  If you have younger children I want to tell you not to dread the teen years.  Everyone "warned" us how terrible these years were going to be and I would like to report they were wrong.  Teenagers are intelligent, funny, caring, and have a lot to offer.  We are thoroughly enjoying our time with our teens, in fact we've had an extra one here for a few days and I couldn't be happier.  If you think I'm saying they're perfect, you read it wrong.  The teen years present new challenges.  It is a season of change for both the child and the parent.  I've heard it said that teens can bring out the worst in a parent and I've told you before that I developed a yelling problem when my boys hit the teen years.  It is true.  I yell when I lose my perspective.  But with proper perspective this period in a child's life can be very rewarding.  I must add that what you are doing with your children from 0 to 12 will show up when they are 13 to 18.  You will reap what you sow.  Pray and ask God to give you His perspective on the teen years.  Don't be discouraged!  Look for the good in your teen and you will find it.  Pray.  A lot.

Homeschooling.  It is a ton of work.  A ton.  One can lose perspective easily.  Don't compare your children to other children.  Don't compare your home school with government schools.  Most importantly, don't give up!  Pray daily and ask God for a filling of His grace.  You can trust Him.  He is faithful!  Do the best you can and enjoy your children.  When you feel your perspective slipping talk to another mom a little further down the road of homeschooling, or schedule yourself some time of refreshment - perhaps a home school conference.  There are a lot of fabulous books chock full of encouragement.  If you need a book recommendation message me.  I've never met a homeschooling mom that wasn't working really hard to educate her children.  I've heard the naysayers comment on such mothers but I've personally never seen it.  I've been homeschooling for over 15 years and I've rubbed shoulders with A LOT of homeschooling moms.  I've never met one who wasn't working diligently.  Most moms I speak to are going above and beyond.  Stop fretting.  Your child is going to learn all that he needs to know and so much more.  Make learning fun and read, read, read!  (If you need more info than I can put in this little paragraph send me an email.)  Approach your homeschooling from a perspective of preparing your child to do whatever the Lord calls him to do.  Your preparation may look a little different from what people are used to but pay no mind to that.  Prepare your children's hearts for Kingdom work.  God will take care of the rest.

Husbands.  A while back I read a quote that said, "Some women spend so much time trying to make good husbands that they forget to be good wives".  Don't do that.  You can lose perspective if you start believing that if he would just do, or say, or be what you want, then everything would be better.  Not true.  Show your husband all the love and respect you possibly can.  Kindness will go so much further than any nagging or complaining ever could.  Focus on being the best wife you can be and forget about making him a better husband.  You will win him over with your sweet spirit.  Place priority on your relationship with him and teach the children to respect him by your example.  Your perspective makes all the difference in your marriage.  One more thing - pray for your husband!

I'm certain we could chat about perspective for some time.  There's a lot more to each of these subjects than what I have quickly written here.  I have to save my thoughts for another day since my time for writing has once again come to an end.  There is a little one in my house ready for nap time and much school work yet to be done.  As always, thanks for reading!

Good Morning!

I'm daring to pop in here for only a few minutes.  Our house is a busy little hub of activity right now.  One has left for the day, some are eating, some are getting ready and I've grabbed the lap-top to steal a few minutes and chat about something that's on my heart.

Perspective.

Have you lost your perspective?

From time to time I lose mine.  I've been thinking about perspective over the last few days.  I want to encourage you if you have lost yours.

Trials.  Are you facing a trial in your life?  Are you overwhelmed?  Headed into an emotional tailspin?  No matter what you are facing God can use it for good in your life.  God is close to the brokenhearted.  You are not alone!  Pray to Him and He will answer you.  Nothing brings things into proper perspective faster than what I call "face to the floor praying".  The kind of praying where literally you are unable to stand.  When you are broken before God you have right perspective and He is able to work in you.  Hang on, sister.  Don't give up!

To-do Lists.  Here's one that will throw off my perspective with ease.  One glance at my to-do list and I'm a wad of stress.  "How can I possibly do everything I have to do today"?  Keep things in proper order.  Your responsibility is to God first, husband second, then your children.  Lay aside people pleasing.  Prioritize and give up perfectionism.  You can't do it all perfectly.  Life is not perfect.  You are not perfect.  Decide what's really important - clean windows or your children's hearts?  I'm not saying you can't have both.  You just might not be able to work on both at the same time.  The windows will always be there.  Your children will grow up.  Think about it.  Perspective.

Children.  Children are a gift from God and don't forget that!  Are your children getting in the way of your work?  If so, your perspective is skewed!  Your children are your work.  What a blessing and a privilege to be the mother of children.  An anonymous commenter wrote to me several times saying that we have too many children.  This person does not have right perspective!  Know that your children are a special blessing loaned to you to nurture and teach and shape their hearts to love the Lord Jesus.  Be a joyful mother.  Changing diapers, staying up all night holding a sick child, and training wrong behaviors may sometimes leave you worn out and exhausted but there is no work in the world more important than what you are doing.  Each time you read books and play games with your children, bake cookies with them, and yes, change those yucky diapers with love, you are making deposits into their lives.  Those deposits will add up over time and one day you will reap what you sow.  Hang in there on those long and tough days.  Love your children with all you've got.  Ask God for the help you need.

Mistakes.  We've all made them.  Stop beating yourself up!  I've written this before, there is no way to be a perfect mom but there are a million ways to be a good one!  When you mess up, ask for forgiveness.  Ask God to help your heart and make changes where necessary.  Perhaps you need more rest, or perhaps you just need a little break with some peace and quiet.  It is not selfish to take good care of yourself, in fact your family needs you to do so.  You know the saying, "there's no use crying over spilled milk".  It's true.  It is spilled.  Wipe it up.  Clean it up.  Start over.  Do your best and be your best.  Mistakes will be made.  A mother who loves her children will not hesitate to ask for forgiveness.  Don't let pride get in the way!  Don't dwell on your mistakes but do learn from them.  The sooner you learn the hard lessons the better off you are going to be.  Keeping your mistakes in proper perspective is essential to good mothering.  If you dwell on them, you will be bogged down with guilt.  If you blow them off, you will repeat them.  Perspective.  Treat mistakes as the teachers they are.

I have more thoughts to share on the subject of perspective but my family needs me.  I guess this will be a two-part post.  Thanks for reading today.  I hope you will stop back by soon.

Busy Days, Best Days

These are busy days aren't they?

Did you know these are also the best days of our lives?

As busy mamas the workload can seem overwhelming at times.  The numerous trips to the grocery store, stacks of school books, and clean laundry that needs folding can almost make a gal feel like she's drowning.

But, these are the happiest, best days of our lives.

Are you thanking God for the busy or grumbling against it?

 I think we should be thankful for those baskets of laundry - there are many little bodies in our home.

We should enjoy teaching those sweet hands to work.  A lot of children are missing out on these lessons.  But ours, we get to teach them to work - and chat about all sorts of things while we're at it.

We should be thankful for a simple supper and those God has given us to share it with, and even all those dirty dishes!

The blessing of children is a gift straight from God.  Yes, the work is great, but so are the blessings!  There may be many who don't understand this choice to leave the womb open to God, but He understands and He rewards.  The fruit of the womb is His reward!

Perhaps, without children (or maybe this many) there would be more quiet, more peace, more money.  But oh, who would trade for such things?

Our home is filled with more love than our walls can hold.  Our dining room table gets loud with chatter but there's no lack of smiles or thank yous or laughs.  Blessed are we, beyond anything we could have imagined, beyond anything we deserve.

Thank God for the busy, the work, the to-do list, the spelling tests, and the fractions.  These really are the best days of our lives!

What Do You Want to Get Done This Week?

On Mondays I make these dream lists of things I would like to accomplish, knowing I probably won't get it all done.  Even if I can only get to a couple of things on my dream list this week I will be happy.  {My dream list is in addition to the other things - my regular daily duties - cooking meals, doing laundry, school time, soccer practice, errands, music lessons, church activities, grocery shopping, etc.}

It's fun to look back at the end of the week to see what I was able to get marked off my dream list.

This week I want to...

Make some fabulous food
(like this from fabulous food blog.)

Clean. my. bathrooms. 

Drag out the fall decorations and dress the house

How's this for inspiration?

 hometalk.com

decorating-by-day.com

opulentcottage.typepad.com

Make a fall wreath.
I love this one.

Put another coat of stain on the front door.

Shampoo the carpets.

So, what about you?  What do you want to get done this week?


By the way...
I saw this today and laughed.  *So true.*

Home Sweet Home

There is nothing sweeter to me than coming home.  I love our home.  It's my happy place.  It has nothing to do with the house, it's all about my honey, our kiddos, and the comforts of our abode.  :)  I love a steaming mug of coffee, my comfy chair, my bible, a cozy quilt, and a lit candle.  I love putting my girls into a tub full of bubbles at the end of a busy day and I love listening to my sons practice music. I love baking bread and enhaling the aroma of the kitchen.  I love calling the family to dinner and the eight of us piling into the dining room to share a meal.    Ahhhh...home.

Sunday night we arrived home from a week long trip.  Last Monday we left our sweet state of Tennessee and made a journey all through Virginia.  We made stops along the way visiting grandparents and cousins, aunts and uncles.  It was a great trip.  Well, 99 percent great.  There's always that one percent.  More on that later.  Maybe.

I have so much I want to catch you up on.  SO MUCH.  I've been doing a lot of research on well, as a matter of fact, eating.  I'm thinking of doing healthy eating for the next challenge.  Anyone interested?  And while we are on the subject of eating... I brought home a really delicious recipe that I will be sharing soon.  It's sooooo good!  (One of my favorite parts of traveling is bringing home new recipes.)  I've also got several projects in the works for our eldest son's graduation party and I can't wait to show you those.  And, there are a bunch of household projects underway as well and I'm snapping before and after pics.  I will post those very soon.  I've also got an update on the NO YELLING Challenge.  It's probably not what you're expecting.

So, that means I will be continuing to write this blog for at least a little while longer.  For now, I must go eat ice cream.  One of our sons just set up a Sundae Bar on the kitchen island.  (More on that healthy eating thing later.)

Happy Memorial Day and This Week's Recommended Reading

Good Morning!  I'm only going to pop in here for a minute.  Our family has big plans for Memorial Day and I'm ready to get to the sun and fun.  :)

Today, I'm recommending another one of my faves.

 LARGE FAMILY Logistics
The Art and Science of Managing the Large Family
By Kim Brenneman

I love, love, love this book!

Here are the words from the first page...

"Home is Where Each Lives for the Other and All Live for Christ."

I love that.  We don't always live like that in our home but it is definitely a goal to strive for.

Top Five Reasons I love Large Family Logistics...

#5  This book is all about the family and the home, some of my favorite subjects to study.
(I am a homemaker after all!)
#4  This book can be read cover to cover, or you can flip to a particular subject and read for inspiration.
#3   LFL is chock full of helpful ideas.  Every time I read it I come away with something new.
#2  Kim Brenneman is not "all work and no play".  One of my favorite chapters is Chapter 27 - Tea Party Day.
#1  And the number one reason I love LFL is that it is a simple how-to manual FULL of tips for managing a busy household of many children.

By the way, you don't have to have an extra large family to enjoy this book.  There is so much goodness between the covers of Large Family Logistics, any mama would benefit from reading it.  Every thing is covered here...laundry, errands, meal planning, attitudes, goals, cleaning, pregnancy, family worship, systems and survival!

If you have this book, or if you order it, I would love to hear your thoughts in the comment section.


HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY...today may we remember.

I hope you have a very cozy day with your family.

Beep Beep Beep

Today will have to be a timer day.  The only way I am going to make it through is with my timer.  Do you timer too?  :)

For those of you who don't know what I mean, allow me to explain.

Sometimes (a lot of times) the only way I can concentrate is to set my timer and work at a task non-stop until the timer rings.  I have my own version of an attention disorder and when there is much mess and many tasks I seem to ping from one thing to another without accomplishing much.  I've learned to set my timer in order to get things done.

There is no question.  It's a timer day!

The family room is a mess.
Each of the kiddos I am homeschooling needs some assistance.
Mount Washmore is at its tallest peak to date.
A pile of unopened mail is stacked on the counter giving me dirty looks.
I'm not showered yet.  (Broke my own rule this morning to enjoy some homemade cinnamon rolls and coffee with my honey.)
My daughter and I have started a new project and the parts and pieces are strewn about.  (I can't wait to show you!)
I must buy groceries and get dinner started.  Soon.
And so on...

I will set the timer for 15 minutes in the bathroom and get ready for the day.  Yes, I can shower and get ready in 15 minutes.  If you don't believe me, ask my family.  Don't you know mothers of six have all kinds of magic tricks?

I will move to the family room and set the timer again for 15 minutes.  There is something about racing the timer that gets the job done quick!

I'll move to the laundry room and set the timer for 15 minutes.  I will work in the laundry room only, fighting the urge to carry things off to other rooms and get distracted by what I see there.

I'll give myself 15 minutes (timer ticking) to clean out my purse and check my list and coupons,  then it's out the door.

My little white timer is my trusty friend.  I carry him with me as I move about the house.  The ticking helps me focus and the competitive spirit in me loves a challenge.  I try to beat my friend by getting the task done before he rings.  It really helps me focus.  Without the timer I would get distracted constantly and do parts of all kinds of jobs but probably not complete any of

Oh!  I have to go now!!  The timer I set for this blog post just rang...more later!

GRABBING THOSE EVERYDAY OPPORTUNITIES

Moms are busy.  Super busy!

Most of the moms I know are not found sitting on the couch watching TV.  They are washing dishes and washing clothes.  They are ironing work shirts for hubby and painting the laundry room, grocery shopping and taking the vehicle in for service, cooking, and planning.  Moms scrub toilets and make doctor's appointments and run the vacuum cleaner and cut coupons and...and...and!  Moms are on the go and on the move.

It is easy to be distracted.  Mornings can be the hardest time for me.  When everyone gets up and starts moving in multiple directions my focus is on getting breakfast served and cleaned up and getting the laundry started and getting school going.  I'm in a hurry and I'm task oriented.

This morning I was reminded how important it is to STOP, or at least SLOW DOWN when children are talking to me.  I was reminded that simply answering with a head nod as I scurry about is not the kind of mom I want to be.  It's much harder to be an intentional mom but the rewards are great.

Case in point:  One of my sweet babes showed me their "lucky pencil".  They shared with me how every time they used that pencil they got an A+ on their math tests.  Part of that is true, the last several math tests have been A+ 100.  (I'm thrilled about that!)  Part of that is not true...the lucky part.  When that comment was made I wasn't really in a position to sit down and chat.  I was "busy".  But, (because of God's grace) I stopped what I was doing and I talked with this sweet one.  To some, this comment might have been no big deal, and I'm not saying that it is necessarily.  But I did feel it was important to grab the opportunity to talk to the owner of that "lucky" pencil.  It is important to take everyday opportunities to teach truth.  Our mama-days are filled with opportunities to speak truth into our children's hearts.  We have to make sure we are receptive to those opportunities and take the time to love and to teach.

My lucky pencil man and I chatted about luck.  We discussed whether or not there really is such a thing.  We talked about the brains God has given to us and how He has blessed us with good minds and strong bodies.  We were able to think through and talk through why and how we make good grades and we discussed that every good and perfect gift is from God...including perfect test scores!  James 1:17 Every good thing bestowed and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.

As moms we must grab every single opportunity we can to teach our children of God's great love for us.  Start doing this as soon as the children are born.  Pray out loud when you lay the baby down to sleep for the night.  When the toddler points out a bird, or a bug, or a flower, tell him that God created those things.  Find answers to the children's questions in scripture and read it to them and with them.  When teens go through struggles go straight to the Word and look together.  Grab every single opportunity, big and small.  Whether you are teaching little ones to pray or helping older ones learn about purity, the answers will all be found in scripture.  Be on the alert for opportunities to show your children the truth and relevance of God's word.

Start each day in prayer and ask God to show you opportunities and then grab them!

Deuteronomy 6:6-7 And these words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart; and you shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up.   

School Room Before and After

I'm super excited to show you a little organizing project I have been working on.  I brought some before and after pics.  Here's the scoop...

Lately our school room has gotten out of control.  The thing is, our "school" room is also the dining room.  We do have a large school closet, and it is pretty well organized, but somehow every single day our dining room table was a disaster within the first couple of hours of school.  It was really getting to me.  It wasn't only the stuff all over the table but the floor too.  I realized we were going to need something in the room to hold some of what was spilling all over the place while we worked.

Before:

This is our school table and how it looks much of the time.  

Here's the chair I've been borrowing the last few weeks to hold some of the books we are currently using.

Remember I said the stuff in the floor was bugging me?  That's the pencil sharpener you see there in the back.

And, in another corner of the room there are Legos.  Ever stepped on one barefoot?

After:

I bought this cubical at Target and I kind of  LOVE it!  It's from Closetmaid.

I corralled the solution manuals and teacher guides into this basket.

I stashed away lots of supplies in this box and found a basket for the play money.  

Another basket for craft stuff and one for stickers.  I'm using a round basket with a lid for the little bottles of paint.

I picked up this cheery little flower at Hobby Lobby.  I love that it has a clip to hold notes, verses, or just about anything you want to put there.

I plan on changing this little note holder often to make sure I keep things interesting.  I think this will be a great place for a verse we might be memorizing.  For now I put a card that reminds us who we are in Christ.

See that lady bug on the leaf?  I've always called my little first grader "Lady Bug".  It's the perfect addition to our school room.

I gave up one of the cubes to house the girls' Legos.  We'll see how this goes but it sure beats having Legos scattered on the floor.

Here's hoping we can keep things neat and tidy!

What do you think?  It feels really good to get things cleaned up and cleaned out and organized.  The dining room table and floor are all clear now and there is more room in the school closet too.  (And I no longer need to stack things in the chair!) I've got lots more of these organizational type projects in my future.  I will keep you posted!