Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Behind

At this time last year I was a full time pregnant mother of two with a demanding career. I was constantly busy, but somehow I managed to have all my shopping done, most of the gifts wrapped and cards sent.  Where did I find the time? I know, that precious one hour lunch break.  I was able to complete almost all my planning and check items off that list within in that almost uninterrupted hour break. 

I had been longing to be home so that I would have more time to be a homemaker and all though I had been warned that it was hard work, I thought it couldn't be much harder than what I was facing. After all, I was managing a department of  17. Boy did I get a wake up call. Being a stay at home mom is much harder than I anticipated. Most of the time I find myself behind on homemaking and planning which has been hard since I am a planner type of person. At this very moment I am even behind on my routines I had posted about. I do have one little excuse a sinus infection but I remember going to work ill and still utilizing lunch to tackle the never ending to do list.

Back in my working days, I used to carry a small notebook that would list routines, to do lists, project planning etc in my handbag. I have been trying to transition into using a binder and word and excel spreadsheets, all things that  I use to use at work but I realize now that I can't run my home as a business. I need to go back to the good ole fashion way, with pen and paper.

Monday, November 29, 2010

Beauty

Last night I watched the Hallmark movie November Christmas. It has one of my favorite actors in it John Corbett (I like referring to him as Ian Miller ;)). It got me to think about the beauty of Nativity and the significance of Christ's birth. It was such a nice way to start the fast.

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Routines

In order to stick with my Nativity plans of simplifying, I have come up with some basic homemaking lists. I plan on trying to stick with these through out the fast to see if it helps me to develop a routine.

Morning
Prayers
Breakfast
Dress for the day
Start laundry
Tidy house
School

Afternoon
Lunch 
Kids nap and rest
Finish any school items left
Tidy house
Any projects

Evening
Dinner
Tidy house
Bath time
Prepare for tomorrow
Computer time
Prayers

Laundry
Monday - Colors
Tuesday - Linens
Wednesday - Whites
Thursday - Colors
Friday - Baby Clothes

Weekly
Monday - Master Bath & Bedroom
Tuesday - Kid's Rooms
Wednesday - Laundry Room & Den
Thursday - Kitchen & Family Room
Friday - Yard Work

Simplify
Week One - Master Bath & Bedroom
Week Two - Kid's Rooms
Week Three - Laundry Room, Linen Closets & Den
Week Four - Kitchen & Family Room
Week Five - Garage
Week Six - Miscellaneous 

Saturday, November 27, 2010

Black Friday ...

We spent our black Friday by going on a small road trip to the monastery.  It was a nice way to spend the day after Thanksgiving. The fresh air was much needed as most of us of have been a bit under the weather. Here are a few of the pictures I took:




When we made it back into town we stopped for a fish taco dinner that was just what the doctor ordered. We came home to see our Cats lose to the #1 Ducks. Bear Down Arizona!

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Nativity Fast Plans

As our nativity fast is approaching (we are old calendar) I have come to the conclusion that in order to make homemaking work for me, I have to come up with my own routine. I have come across many routines via blogs and websites and tried to follow them but have never really made them my own, therefore they haven't worked for long. I am definitely a list person but I have a tendency to take make them more complicated and detailed. I need to work on simplifying, not only my list making but also our material possessions. Here are my plans for this nativity: 
  • Create a Basic Daily and Weekly Routine and stick with it.
  • Simplify Simplify Simplify
  • Utilize Mat. Emily's Jesse Tree Plans 
  • Finish the books I have started