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!

a lot of learning new things,

a lot of getting some sun,

a lot of being handsome,

a lot of being potty-trained too (!),

a lot of chatting with friends,

and a lot of having adorable feet.

Love these days.

Boxes are still waiting to be unpacked, but there has definitely been a big improvement in the stuff area.  I have taken a carload to Goodwill, and I am working on another one. We have filled up our big trashcan several times. I have stuck to my promise that nothing comes into the house unless it has a purpose and a place.  That doesn’t mean we still don’t have a ton of “stuff”, but I’m hoping it is far less than where we started on moving day.

We absolutely LOVE this house (ok, my love does not refer to the exterior paint colors but definitely everything else)! I know some people still think it is weird that we choose to rent instead of buy, but I love the flexibility we have AND that we have a home we can love.  The space in this house is incredible compared to our last one.  And the backyard…it is my favorite part of this house.  There is a door off the dining room/playroom that opens right to the deck.  Jonah can run in and out as he pleases.  I can be playing with Penny inside or getting dinner ready while Jo plays in my view right out back.  It is such a blessing.

I’m trying to focus on getting one room done at a time, but I have so many ideas and just want it all done at once.  It is overwhelming at times, but as of now we are living and playing and eating and sleeping.  Here is where we are at the moment:

• Lucky Penelope is the only one with a “finished” room. She has all her furniture in place and art on the walls.
• Jonah’s room is basically set up, but we want to add some more big boy furniture and fun art.
• Our room is liveable, but I need something on the walls. I haven’t quite decided what I want to do in there.
• The living room is in desperate need of furniture! We are couch hunting now and hope to make a decision soon.  We purchased a new tv stand in February, so we are excited to add to that.
• The kitchen is functional but needs art and some more organization.
• The playroom is finally coming along after a couple weeks of chaos and toys everywhere. We have a rug, some toy storage, and a fun wall treatment in there already.  I need to work on adding an art area and more storage.  I’m hoping this room will be the next one “finished”.

So, we are getting there.  As hard as it is to sit in unfinished spaces, I have to keep reminding myself that making a house “home” takes time.  I like to live in the space and see what works best.  Of course we can keep changing things as we go, but for the sake of our bank account, I like to try to make long-term decisions.  I’ll post pictures as rooms get more finished because right now, I promise, there isn’t much to see.

ps: Penny turned 7 months old last week.  I think I still may be in denial.  Did I mention she can sit up alone and she has started eating foods?! Where did the time go…

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.

So, we thought we would start looking for a new rental (yes, we are still renting!), and I started checking Craigslist every couple of days to see what was out there with no intention of making any decisions anytime soon.

Then we looked at a few places. Just to see what they were like.

Then we found THE place.

With the rental market as it is in Baton Rouge, you really can’t pass up a nice place at your price point when you see it.  We said yes, and they said yes, and we signed the marriage license lease.  It was beautiful and FAST!  I have exactly 1.3 days to pack and get settled in the new house.  Yeah, that’s the ridiculous-I’m-freaking-out part.

We will have a few days after that to move smaller items, but we want to start sleeping at the new house Saturday night! Eeeek! I’m excited and overwhelmed but really excited. Can’t wait to show you pics next week!

ps- I brought both of my babies home to our current house.  I’m going to really miss this place.

pps- If you are looking for a great little starter home in the Baton Rouge area, email me!

My mama bear instincts have kicked in full force.  I will do everything in my power right now to make my family and myself better.  After doing a lot of reading and thinking, I am seeing more and more how our diet and lifestyle are holding us back from optimal health.  The food we are eating has just been making us weaker.  And who knows what all the “junk” has done to our bodies long term.  My babies deserve the absolute BEST I can give them. They trust me to feed them what their bodies are designed to eat and thrive on.  I have been failing them.

And what about our lifestyle? So what if it is a little cold outside? Why have we been spending the majority of our day inside and sedentary? We are so blessed to live in the south and have mild winters, yet I don’t take advantage of them.  I’m too lazy to get dressed and get the kids and myself fresh air and sunshine. This is COMMON SENSE!!

We are radically changing our diet and lifestyle starting NOW.  We are switching to a real-food, grain free diet.  I spent the weekend making meal plans, researching, and most importantly throwing away all the JUNK! What’s funny is I don’t even buy “junk food” except for a box of cookies or graham crackers.  But, there were things hidden: leftover Christmas candy, syrup, frozen waffles, “fruit” chewies, salad dressing, cake mix.  Anything with sugar, flour, or weird science ingredients are OUT.  Yes, it’s radical. But if we keep letting things slide, then I blink and realize all Jonah has consumed in a day is a peanut butter waffle, chicken nuggets, a peanut butter sandwich, some applesauce, a banana, and two cups of milk.  Ack! No wonder this child is still sick.

We will be greatly increasing our fresh fruits and veggies.  We will be cooking A LOT.  We will be trying new foods. We will also be playing outside a lot more, increasing our Vitamin D intake, and getting some much needed exercise.

We will be doing this as a family.  I hope to learn a lot as we go.

My prayer is that this radical change will radically improve our health.  I’m tired of coughing and having a runny nose EVERYDAY.  I’m tired of being tired.  We should be living better and in the most healthy way possible.  We owe it to ourselves and to the God who created us.  If you are interested in these ideas, google any of the following: primal diet, paleo diet, real food.

We flew to Nassau on January 10: me, Josh, the two kiddos, and Josh’s mom.  We like to travel but we aren’t crazy, so we asked “SuSu” to come along for an extra set of hands.  Spoiler alert: we couldn’t have done this trip without her! (Thanks again, SuSu for all your help!)

walk to the bus stop

wow, people LIVE here!!

We stayed in a townhouse that we rented through homeaway.com.  It was a great find for a great price and just a few minutes walk to the nearest bus stop.  The house had two bedrooms, a full kitchen, and living room.  It was the perfect “home away from home” for our bunch.  On Friday, our first full day, we headed out bright and early to the nearby Sheraton resort.  We paid for a day pass which included access to their beach, pools, and a room to use for the day.  There was a little, private beach right by our town home, but it would have been too crazy to go back and forth with the kids all day.  This way, we could stay put and enjoy a day at the beach.

Sheraton Resort

The Sheraton was beautiful and the beach was stunning, but the weather was not very friendly.  It was super windy and almost cold! We kept Penny in the room most of the day, but Jonah enjoyed some sand and pool time with daddy.  I was definitely discouraged this day.  This was not the weather I had hoped for.  Luckily, by the afternoon, the sun came back out and the day improved.  Jonah ate a popsicle for lunch.  We lazed around and rested.  No place I would rather be!

ready for the beach

pretty girl relaxing

Jonah’s “lunch”

swimming with daddy

When we were ready to head back to our townhouse, we accidentally boarded a bus heading East.  Believe me, when you are tired with two very unhappy kids, this is the last thing you want to happen.  We ended up all the way downtown, surrounded by the crazy cruise ship people, and kicking ourselves for our mistake.  Josh helped make the best of it and insisted we stay and eat downtown and just take a taxi back home later.  Little did we know this would be what all our dinners looked like on the trip: Penny asleep, Jo playing on the iphone to keep him from whining, mommy and SuSu exhausted.

a typical dinner for us

Saturday started out to be a much better day.  The weather was gorgeous, and I was getting to check something off of my “life list”.  Today was DOLPHIN DAY!!

We boarded a boat at 8:30am headed to Blue Lagoon Island, a private island that is home to a dolphin and sea lion habitat. That morning there was a small group with us, which made us feel like we had the island all to ourselves.  I signed up for a “dolphin encounter” where you get to play and interact with a dolphin in a small group setting.  It has always been a dream of mine to pet a dolphin or whale.  But I actually got to dance with, hug, and feed the dolphin.  It was thrilling!! Jonah had the option to come with me, but opted out at the last minute.  He preferred to watch from afar, but he was so close and in his mini-wet suit that I think he felt like he did it all too!

on our way! (poor Penny)

yes, the water is that blue!

meeting our dolphin

(Ok, I hope you can find Jo in the above pic.  I think I’m buying him a wet suit.  IT IS SO CUTE!!)

dolphin kiss

dolphin hug

he felt so cool!

dolphin dance

dolphin feeding

After the dolphin experience, we enjoyed the rest of the morning/early afternoon on the island’s beach.  Penny had her first sand experience.  Jonah enjoyed playing in the calm water, even though it was really cold! The day was so beautiful and definitely one of the highlights from our trip.

our napping girl

she loved the sand

he loved finding rocks

look at daddy!

my handsome, but very tired boy

And then that evening, I got sick.  Ugh.  Like feeling yucky, have the chills, want to sleep kind of sick.  I toughed it out so Josh and I could have a dinner date, but I definitely wasn’t up for much.  At this point, I was hoping the rest of my trip wouldn’t be ruined.  To be continued…

Sheraton photo from here.

My new calendar.  As much as I use my ical, I definitely like the feeling of writing things down and seeing it all in hand.  This one is extra cute.  (From Target on clearance.)

Amazon Prime membership. We are those crazy people that order everything from Amazon (diapers, toilet paper, dish soap, etc.) When I need something, I always check Amazon before heading to the store.  I think we ordered 50% of our Christmas gifts from here too.  It makes a mommy’s life SO much easier.  Warning: it can be very dangerous to your bank account if you get a little click-happy.

Cuisinart coffee maker and Capresso burr grinder.  We finally got around to upgrading our coffee accessories, and I am loving the change.  Grinding beans makes a noticeable difference in how my coffee tastes, and the new coffee maker does its job well.  Straightforward coffee that I get to add all my lovely creams to.  Heaven for a mommy every morning.

What are your favorite things these days?

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!

Our Christmas was divided into two days.  Christmas day with my family.  The day after Christmas was spent with Josh’s family.  I’m so glad we were able to dedicate full days to each family and not worry about driving around and being stressed.  Jonah and Penelope were spoiled rotten by their grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins.  They were smothered with attention and perfect gifts.  Isn’t it crazy how happy you get to see your children happy?!

Christmas morning at our house was quick but sweet.  We don’t like to overload on gifts since the kids get so much from the rest of the family, so they each got a “big” gift and then a few smaller things.  I like to have everything set up and really try to make the morning feel special.  Jonah doesn’t quite grasp Santa Claus yet, and we don’t really like to push it.  Penny was cute and happy as always.

We spent the rest of the morning at my parent’s house, where the kids opened presents with their cousins.  My parents bought Jonah an awesome play house for the backyard.  He was so excited.  It will be much loved and used by both kiddos.  I can’t wait to see them playing house together.

The rest of the day was spent with our GIANT family on my mom’s side.  There were 40+ people.  It is always crazy and wonderful.

The next day we woke up early and made the one hour drive to be with Josh’s sweet family.  I really lucked out with my in-laws.  They made the day so special for the kids and cooked a fantastic meal for us.  Jonah’s PaPa built him a custom train table! He was so excited when he realized he got to take it home and could play with it everyday.

The best gift this year: having my sweet family to share Christmas with.  I love my babies and their daddy.

And this year brought our sweet Penelope.  She is such a joy EVERY.DAY. I’ve never met a happier baby.

We are so blessed to have our two, beautiful children in our arms. It breaks my heart thinking of those sweet families that didn’t get that gift this year. No matter what happens we always have hope thanks to a little baby in a manger.  Wishing you a late Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year!