Category Archives: Babble

Trying to Simplify

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One thing I am good at: getting my kids on a routine.  I don’t think I could bear getting out of bed if I didn’t have an expectation of how my day with two littles would go.  Jonah has had a solid routine for almost two years now, and although it has changed from stage to stage, he knows and expects it.  Let’s just say, you don’t want to be around if he misses a nap.  Penelope already seems like a much more laid-back kid, but even she gets fussy and overtired when our routine is off for the day.

I’m not a drill sergeant.  I will be flexible one day a week.  Sometimes.  :)

It is just really important to keeping my kids and myself happy when we have a flow to our day.  So, here’s where we get to my problem.  I can’t seem to get MYSELF on any sort of routine, and it’s driving me crazy! The house is never cleaned in any order.  The grocery shopping/cooking is random, even when I try to meal plan.  Projects around the house don’t seem to ever get finished.  My hobbies (aka blogging and reading blogs) are inconsistent (ahem, Ipostonceamonth, ahem).  What is WRONG with me?!?! Why is it so easy for me to manage the littles but not myself?

I’m declaring the rest of this month “Simplify and Organize My Life” month.  I want to FINALLY figure out a cleaning/cooking/shopping/planning/project-doing routine for me.  One that works and that is simple enough to actually stick to.  I am a stay-at-home mom for goodness sakes.  The major blessing of that: I HAVE TIME! I need to use my time more wisely and get myself together.  If it’s on the blog, then it has to happen.  Right? :)

I would love any tips or tricks you may have on keeping yourself in a simple, weekly routine.  How do you find the time to get all the chores and personal stuff done without feeling bogged down and crazy? I’m looking forward to posting what I decide to do soon.  First on my list: carve out weekly blogging time.  No, seriously.  I miss this and you all!

Stuff

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Well, we did it.  We moved in a weekend after signing our lease just two days prior! It was fast, which is definitely not our usual style.  Now that I am on the other side of the move, I’m grateful we did it all so quickly.  I didn’t have to stress about packing or getting the kids adjusted. It’s done, and everyone is happy.

One thing I must say I don’t like about this situation is the UNpacking.  Things got thrown in bags and boxes and dumped into the garage.  I’m glad I don’t have to look at it every day, but I’m going to have to look THROUGH all of it.  One thing at a time.  It is incredibly overwhelming, but it must be done.

It’s amazing how our tiny, 1100 square feet held so much STUFF. How did all of that junk fit? We were definitely not using it all. What’s funny is most people tease me about giving away all our stuff all the time. In reality, we have 5x the amount of stuff I thought we did.  I just wasn’t seeing it all in a huge pile at once. What if we were living in a house twice the size?  Would we have twice as much stuff? Do we fill the space we are in no matter what?

For this house, my goal is to have empty shelves. I want to be able to breathe. Nothing is coming through that garage door unless it has a purpose and a place. That’s my rule for our new house.  I may also add the rule “if something comes in, something else must go out” for any new purchases we make.  I wonder if that could work. What do you think?

ps- I love this print.  I couldn’t even imagine doing this with our stuff right now.  Maybe if we didn’t have kids. :)   Found here.

Happy New Year

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Ah, the life of a mommy.  I spent New Year’s Eve home with the baby, cleaning house, and watching the Gossip Girl series finale.  Bliss.  It was just one of those years where I wanted to rest and relax and check some things off of my 2012 list (Gossip Girl finale being at the top of said list, of course).

As 2013 begins, I thought I would start a new list.  Here are my goals/resolutions for the year, two for our family and two just for me.

1. Have more adventures.

I want our little family of four to DO more together.  This past year was a lot of work and baby-having and not much play. I’m hoping this year we will be able to take some trips (big and small), have more weekend fun, and try some new things together.

2. Intentionally save for a house.

We have been renting for several years now, and we honestly love it.  However, two kids means we are really starting to need more space.  This year, I want us to put money aside each month and start working on a down payment for a house. It’s nice to think about settling somewhere more permanent, but we definitely want to take this year to think more about it before we make any decisions.

3. Build relationships.

This one is for me.  I want to work on my relationships with friends, family, and neighbors and make deeper connections.  I’ve been so focused on my babies the past couple of years that I’ve really forgotten the other people in my life.  I’m hoping that this year I can take more time for others.

4. Improve my photography.

I received a new, fancy lens Christmas of 2011 and only touched it three times.  Out of fear.  I want to take better pictures this year and learn more about using my camera and that poor lens.

I hope you all have a wonderful start to this new year!

Update

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Just a quick update on where I’ve been in case you were wondering. My trusty laptop from sophomore year of college finally kicked the bucket. :( I have no way to edit pictures and post normal posts without it, so until a new computer arrives (coughmothersdaygiftcough) I am off the blog.

Will miss you all bunches!!

Back to Life, Back to Reality

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So, you’d think my reason for not blogging in a week or so is that I am extremely busy. Well, friends, you would be oh so wrong.  I’m just tired and lazy.  We haven’t been doing much of anything the past couple of weeks, hence the absence of things to blog about.  Not to mention, actually using my brain and fingers to blog is almost too much for this tired little momma.  Well, not in reality, just in my head.

I’ve finally had a few “burst of energy” days this week where the house got some much-needed cleaning, shirts were ironed, and a couple dinners were cooked.  I’m no where close to “normal”, but I’m getting there.  I hate to think that I’ve missed two weeks of life just because I’m tired and don’t want to do much.  What an awful excuse!  That’s why that quote above is really inspiring me.  Yeah, I may be tired, but do I really want to stop enjoying life because of it?!

Dear, sweet Jonah is feeling the effects of lazy momma, too.  He has started hitting me and throwing toys at me and not obeying.  I partially blame myself, since he is cooped up in this house so much, with little entertainment.  And momma is usually sitting down not playing with him.  I would throw toys at me, too.

With all that said, I am ready to get myself back into gear and get this life of ours going again.  The blog, my house, Josh, and Jonah have waited long enough!  Maybe it’s time to start drinking a little coffee again, just for the extra kick in the pants.  If you know me, you know I’ll need it!

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