What Type Are You?

I try so hard to be that put-together person who runs on time and has everything you could possibly need in her bag. But the truth is, 80% of the time I'm dashing out the door at the last possible minute and forgetting at least one thing if not half a dozen. :) It's my own fault. The nights I prepare ahead for the next day always go better - you would think I would learn.

I've always been a bit of a procrastinator - in college I wrote many a paper the night before it was due. Over the years, I've realized the value of planning ahead but that doesn't mean it always happens. But it's just so much better to have the extra shorts and underwear in the bag or in the car (right, Jenny S.? :)) and to always have snacks and drinks just in case, to carry extra napkins, hand sanitizer, and a plastic bag just in case of wet things, sickness, or whatever... I try to pack a bag that stays in the van with fun things to fill time and I try to keep the necessities close at hand but sometimes the supply gets depleted and sometimes I forget to re-stock and sometimes it accidentally comes inside. The days I have it together are the best - maybe I should shoot for 80% of those kind of days...who am I kidding, I'll try for 50% and go from there. :)

Are you a plan ahead, always prepared or a let's hurry, we're running late kind of person? When I am prepared and together, this is my list of essentials in a bag for toddlers:

clean set of clothes
clean underwear or diapers & wipes (depending on stage)
hand sanitizer
Wet-ones wipes
Shout wipes, Tide-to-go pen, and/or bleach pen (I like Shout the best!)
plastic bag (or two)
2-4 pre-packaged snacks (granola bar, dried fruit, trail mix, crackers etc.)
2 cups w/lids or 2 juice boxes
1 bottle water
napkins
Kleenex
Tylenol
1st aid kit (bandaids, triplebiotic, cleansing pad, gauze)
a few small books
2-4 matchbox cars or trucks
paper
writing utensil or small pack of crayons
hat per kid
sunblock
camera

It's alot but it will all fit in one diaper bag, tote bag, or backpack and I find if I have this list of things, I'm rarely frustrated by situations. It's what I need to be prepared. Oh and I try to always keep a couple of jackets or sweatshirts in the car just in case. We don't often need all of the above but I think we've used every single thing on the list at some point. It pays to be prepared. Note to self: follow your own advice. :) I'm off to update our bags and put them in the van...

Living Without AC

We've been enjoying the beautiful and mild weather this spring and early summer. It's unusual for it to be July and this mild. We've turned off our air (we used it a few times in May & June) and opened our windows! We hope to see a lower electric bill and we love to conserve energy. Even when it is 80+ degrees inside, the breeze has made it feel much cooler. We are drinking lots of water, spending most of our day downstairs where it is cooler and where we get better air circulation and I allow the boys to run around in just shorts (they love it!). I'm trying to limit the use of the stove and oven so as not to increase the temperature inside. I'm hoping we can leave it off for a little longer and continue to acclimate ourselves to a warmer temperature. Maybe we can leave the A/C set at a higher temperature when we do finally succumb to leaving it on. In the mean time, we have a greater appreciation for nature and enjoy the peaceful evenings with a gentle breeze lulling us to sleep.

**I should mention that on the recent rainy days we've turned it on due to not being able to use the windows and the resulting humidity in the house.**

Planning for Another Week at Home

I was desperately hoping to plan some fun outings for the boys this week since we've been cooped up for a couple of weeks... Wouldn't you know that Patrick woke up sick this morning with a runny nose, cough, and sore throat. He gets the juiciest, grossest colds - eyes and nose just drip and he is not good at blowing. Ugh. This cold is lasting at least 5-7 days. The boys are going stir crazy and so is this mama.

So here are my hopefully fun, stay-at-home ideas for this week:
Finger Paint
Make a Fort
Put up their Tent in the backyard
Decorate Cookies (only the ones they will eat themselves :))
Make Construction Paper Flags (they are really into flags!)
Sidewalk Chalk
Have a Picnic in the backyard
Make Snack Mix
Do a Photo Shoot (okay this may be more fun for me than them :))

Here is my not-so-fun list for this week:
Vacuum & Dust
Clean Bathrooms
Mop Kitchen
Clean Our Bedroom & Boys' Bedroom
Go through Toys again - sort and donate
Laundry
Organize Pantry & Kitchen
Donate More Things!

And here are my more fun things:
Finish 2 books
Have a Date-Night-In
Work on Blog
Plan Patrick's Birthday
Plan 2 Bridal Showers
Plan 1 Wedding Favor - What do you think, edible or not? I'm leaning towards the former.
Work on Menu & Cost for 1 Wedding Reception

It sounds like a lot and likely everything won't get done (I'm way behind from being out of commission) but at least I have an idea of what needs started. Hopefully we will be well enough to enjoy our 4th of July plans - Brownsburg Parade and Conner Prairie! I'm praying Andrew stays healthy. What's on your agenda this week?

Trash to Treasure

Yesterday as we were driving home from church, we saw a kitchen table with the trash pile at a recently sold house. We stopped to look at it and realized it was not only in great condition but that it went with the chairs we already have. A kitchen table has been on our list of needed things (ours seats 4 but had no room to put anything on it other than place settings) but it had plummeted to the bottom of the list as we made do. This table is at least half again as big, seats 6, and is sturdier than our previous one. We have been blessed twice with kitchen tables (our previous one was also free) and we are rejoicing in God's gift! It's amazing to see how even the seemingly insignificant things in our life don't escape God's notice and provision. A good reminder and one that will be constantly before us as we share meals around our new-to-us table.

A Little Random

First up, Calvin had a cardiology appointment today - I posted the report here! Also, he will begin his speech therapy with his new therapist tomorrow! I'm praying this will be a smooth transition for him and he will be okay going back by himself for therapy.

Now, on with my real post, do you ever struggle with feeling completely inadequate as a wife, mother, friend etc.? This has been an interesting week. I've not felt like myself at all...I'll blame it on the medicine as it is the only new variable. :) I'm tired but struggle to sleep. I'm trying to be patient and kind and loving but finding it difficult. Hopefully things will get back to normal soon. Today was my last dose of Prednisone and I am doing better. I've opted to wait on the MRI at this time but it will be the next step if things don't resolve satisfactorily in the next week. I will not be working tomorrow to allow more time for healing.

Oh and my feeling of inadequacy is definitely not all related to this week. Sometimes I just struggle with feeling like nothing ever gets done. I clean but it's undone in about 2.1 seconds :), I do laundry only to have it stack up immediately, I make meals but struggle to get all the dishes done, and I sort papers like they're going out of style but there is no end in sight. I'm not really looking for perfection :) - I will never find it. I just would like more organization. I do NOT do well in chaos and clutter. I find it discouraging, unmotivating, and generally depressing. I like things to look nice, I want our home to be a haven for my husband and children (though it certainly doesn't bother them like it does me! :)). Maybe one of these days I'll get it together. Until then, I'm trying to not let it cloud my life but rather to nurture, love and spend time with the most important people in my life - I know that this is what God desires of me.

One final note, we were given Andrew's grandfather's old washer and it has been succesfully installed. Laundry will be on the agenda for tomorrow! Here's to hoping it works!

Laundry & Gas - Ugh!

The laundry had to be delayed until today. By the time the boys got up from their naps yesterday, Patrick's fever was almost 102 and he was feeling horrible. So we chilled out and watched a movie instead. :) Today, the boys were a bit better, so we headed to my parents to use their washer. We enjoyed our time there - our loooong time. We had a back log of laundry and it took several hours. I think we are mostly caught up...we have a couple of loads that are currently drying.

I had hoped for at least one outing this week to the Children's Museum but with the boys being sick...well that won't be happening. The good part is that staying home doesn't use gas. :) Is anyone else shocked and horrified at the price of a gallon of gas?!! We are trying to cut back on our trips out. I put $45 worth of gas in the Jeep (or 'Mommy's car' as the boys call it) and it filled the tank less than 3/4 full. Frustrating!! It makes everything so much more expensive!

Well, that's about it. It's pretty boring around here.

Spring Colds & Spring Cleaning

The boys are battling spring colds this week. Patrick has it the worst with a low grade fever, runny nose & eyes, and cough. Calvin just has the cough and runny nose. They are a little extra needy and whiny but it could be worse. :) We've been enjoying some extra cuddle time, learning not to throw huge wads of kleenexes into the toilet, and drinking lots of water and juice. They are napping now and I hope they take long ones - they both need it!

I woke up today feeling overwhelmed by all that needs done and with a very bad headache. Not the best combination. :) I don't know about you all, but I have a long list of chores that I don't particularly like to do and therefore put them off. Today, I decided that despite the headache, I needed to get started on one or two of the distasteful tasks. :) So, the downstairs baseboards and the stairs are vaccumed and the windows washed. I had hopes of finishing the upstairs windows also but they will have to wait. I cleaned up the kitchen though I still need to mop the floor and go through some stacks of papers - I think papers are going to take over our life sometimes! I need to find a better system...

This afternoon, the boys and I are headed to my parent's house to use their washing machine. Ours is broken and is one of those purchases that we have regretted but have endured for the past 4 years. We've had it repaired before but decided that it might be time to shop for another one instead of paying to have it repaired again. So, we are looking for an inexpensive replacement. I'm planning a trip to Sears Outlet (mostly scratch and dent) to see what can be had for not much. :) So that's our day...Spring cleaning has officially begun (maybe it officially began when I switched out all the clothes :)). I'm definitely looking forward to my Mom's Night Out tonight!

Brands

Well, moving right along from my rather boring post yesterday...:)

Are you a "brand snob"? I've been contemplating this question and trying to determine if I am. The answer is not clear cut. I think I am definitely particular about brands on some things but not on others.

Brands:
Cereal (Any name brand - Kelloggs, General Mills etc.)
Deoderant (Lady's Speedstick)
Cosmetics (Maybelline, Mary Kay, L'Oreal - I will sometimes try other brands)
Toilet Paper (Charmin all the way!)
Dish & Dishwasher Detergent (Dawn & Electrasol)
Laundry Detergent (Tide but sometimes I will buy the Costco brand because it's similar and cheaper)
Diapers (Huggies - the other brands leaked for my boys)
Q-Tips (has to be the real thing)
Toothpaste (Crest Whitening Expressions Herbal Mint - nothing to do with the whitening just the flavor! I am trying to not care about this one and use Colgate since we have several tubes.)
Coke (No Pepsi.)

Things I don't care so much about:
Canned Vegetables (although I don't normally buy the "ugly" cans that are the very cheapest :))
Bread
Contact Solution
Wipes
Cheese
Pretzels
Paper Towels (although I prefer Bounty or Vive)
Napkins
Tissues
Shampoo & Conditioner

Anyway, you get the idea. I'm not really sure why I care so much about some of them - others are tried and true. And I should clarify that I could make do without the brand names if I needed to, I try not to be too die hard. :) So how about you, dear readers...are you "brand snobs" on anything? Please share!

Dishes

Rocks in My Dryer is hosting a Spur-Of-The-Minute Dish Carnival! And since I love dishes and have been singularly uninteresting and uninspired lately, I thought I would participate (please forgive the photos - I am NOT a good photographer). Anyway, I had to stop buying dishes because we were running out of places to store them - that's how much I love them and have a hard time resisting when I find good deals. I have 12 place setting of Snowman Christmas dishes that will not appear because they are already packed away in the scary recesses of a closet. So, without further ado, I give you...our dishes...

These are our everyday dishes. They are navy blue on the outside and light blue on the inside. My parents and grandparents gave them to me for my birthday a couple of years ago. They are Asian inspired and I love them!

This is our wedding china. We have about 19 place settings and I use it regularly. I (gasp) wash them in the dishwasher and have never had any problems. We have many serving pieces as well as salad and dessert plates and saucers. When we selected our china, we tried to choose something that we thought we would use; it's also the most place settings we have and I'm from a big family so family dinners often include many people!

This is my other set of china. I fell in love with it at an antique store and it was a GREAT deal! I haven't used them as much as I would like because they are not very easy to get out. One of these days, I'll have a better storage system (or more cabinet space) that will accomodate all the dishes.

We have a couple of other plate sets like these - I purchased them for $1 or less for the whole stack. I love the earthy colors and the pottery appearance. They were a steal and we've used them a lot!




So as you can tell, I enjoy dishes. I've learned a lot about the presentation of food over the years and I think sometimes (maybe often) the right dish is instrumental in food appearance! Sometimes I serve plates before they go to the table but more often than not, we do family style. I use serving dishes all the time - my mom always did and I guess it rubbed off - in a good way. :) Hope you enjoyed the dish tour. I have many other single dishes that could merit a spot but I'll spare you. Have a wonderful day!

The Furniture Saga

Ugh. That pretty much sums up how we are feeling right now. Our bed was delivered last week and we LOVE it! You may remember that we bought this set but only saw one piece displayed since it was a discontinued set, so everything is a bit of a surprise. :)

Anyway, we've been waiting for at least 12 weeks for our nightstands - 1 drawer with a shelf underneath. We were assured that they would be able to get them for us... Well, the store called yesterday and said they arrived but they were the wrong stain and they couldn't get another set because they aren't making them anymore. He went on to say that the good news was that he has the 3-drawer nightstands that he can deliver right away and even though they are more expensive he will give them to us for the price we paid. (Wow, that was a run-on:)) Sounds nice, right? Not to us, the money wasn't the issue - we wanted the shelf. We both love to read and wanted a place to put the books we are currently reading. We chose the nightstands based on functionality for us. I'm thinking someone needs to strip and re-stain those nightstands.

We have two options, take the nighstands that aren't really what we want but match the set we have or shop around and try to find a close enough match to our set with the design we need. I'm inclined to go with the first because I fairly certain we won't be able to match the stain close enough if we buy something else. I think we have put enough money into a bedroom suite that we hope lasts for years that I don't want to feel disappointed that it doesn't match. I think we will adapt to the 3-drawer and just designate one drawer for our current reading selection.

It's frustrating. We've waited longer than we were told and we were promised products that aren't going to be delivered. Andrew is calling the store today to at least register our unhappiness with this turn of events and maybe work out another arrangement - we'll see. We both find it slightly amusing that the salesman is trying to act like we are getting a good deal, even a better deal by getting the 3 drawer. And it's hard for us to imagine that there are not two nightstands in a cherry finish somewhere in a warehouse - anywhere. Ah, the saga continues...

I'm a Believer!

If you haven't checked out moneysavingmom.com, you should! I've saved nearly $300 at CVS since Jan. 1 on things that our family uses and have paid very little out of pocket. I'm also a convert to coupons - I've probably saved another $200 just by using coupons at the drugstore and grocery store. It's taken me some time to get the routines down and coupons sorted but it is totally worth it and I'm getting much faster! It's been a great way to start the year off and I look forward to saving more. I love that it's frugality that doesn't compromise on quality or products!

Bittersweet Change

BEFORE:

AFTER:

The boys are so pleased with the change. They are so excited to go to bed in their new car beds and Patrick asks daily if he can sleep there. :) It was hard for me to see the cribs come down because it means I have to really face the fact that they are growing up but it's been great! I love to see them so independent and pleased. They have been excellent about not getting up and they are even learning to make their beds. So that's the big change around here. :)

Coupon Organizing

Since I asked for ideas last week, I thought I would update with how I have organized my coupons. But first, both Heather and Monica sent me a link for Thrifty Florida Mom and I wanted to pass that on to you. She has coupon organizing tips - it's a little advanced for me but she has great ideas. Maybe one day...

Anyway, I already had one of the 2 in. coupon organizers but it wasn't working very well for me. I decided to try it again but this time, I put envelopes in (sm. letter sz.). Each envelope is labeled with what type of coupons are in it - for instance, dairy, cleaning supplies, medicines etc. If there are a few different types in one, then I labeled more than one on the outside. It helped me to break it down into much smaller categories. I will be buying one more coupon organizer and then I will put all the non-food coupons in one organizer and all the food coupons in the other. I will keep both with me when I shop.

At the front of the organizer, I put envelopes labeled by store (CVS, Meijer, Target etc.). I put the coupons that I plan to use at that store in the labeled envelope and if I add any coupons while shopping, I also stick them in there. It helps to keep them organized and ready to use - then I'm not holding them all at the end (which I've done).

It was so much easier searching for coupons for a few deals that I happened upon while shopping the other day. I just pulled the corresponding envelope out and looked for what I needed. I'm happy to report that I saved almost $10 at Meijer with just coupons on a fairly small trip last week not to mention the other $32 from the specials. It was worth it for me! I'm going to persevere for now and give it at least 3 months and then re-evaluate my system. Thanks again for all your tips!

A Battle

I've been feeling a little frustrated lately with my seeming inability to keep things organized. I LOVE having a place for everything and having a neat, tidy, organized home. Somehow, I can never achieve it all at once. I have some theories... :)

Since Christmas, I've been struggling to regain some sense of order and I desperately need it! So Saturday I spent time putting things back in order in the pantry/laundry room - it looks much better again but it seems only a matter of time before it will be a mess again (it doesn't help that we usually come in that way when we get home). Today, I've spent time tidying (I'm glad to use that word!) our bedroom and thoroughly cleaning and organizing the boys' room - I'm not quite finished but getting there.

I started the boys' room right before we had the flu and haven't been able to get back to it - it involved cleaning out the closet, sorting clothes and toys, packing things up, and general pick-up. The cribs and changing table are coming down which is a little sad. They haven't tried to get out of their cribs (which is why we haven't done this sooner) and we really like the fact they can't get out, but they are ready for big beds. We have matching blue race car toddler beds which I scored at a garage sale this summer for $10 apiece. Any little boy's dream - they will be excited, let's just hope they sleep!

Do any of you feel frustrated with the constant organizing? It seems that as soon as I feel fairly organized, a birthday or Christmas or a new season comes and brings lots more "stuff" to find a place for - don't get me wrong, we are certainly grateful for these things. And I do get rid of things; I have toys, clothes, and other things that we take to Goodwill or have the VA pick up regularly. It's just a constant battle and sometimes I'm winning and sometimes I'm losing. Right now, I'm losing - it feels better when I'm winning. Maybe by the end of the week?

CVS!!!

Okay, I've had several friends (Catherine, Monica, and Amy) who have written about the awesome deals they have been able to get at CVS. So now it's my turn. :) I've been so impressed with their savings and I've been wanting to give it a real try - I did a little over Christmas and did well but I was also buying stocking stuffers etc.

Anyway, today was the day. I poured over the ad, moneysavingmom, and my coupons and came up with a general plan. And for the most part, it worked! I realized afterwards that I probably could have saved a little more and if I had done it in more than one transactions, I could have also done better but there were a lot of people and I was too tired to break it up. :)

The really great thing was that the L'Oreal products that were B1G1 had some in each category that had 75% off stickers and there were no exclusions posted. So, I was able to get them B1G1 (the clerk did go check the signs but he was super nice about it :)) and use coupons which made them free. Yay! I came home with 2 mascaras, 2 lipsticks, and 2 foundation/powders.

According to my receipt, I saved $103.48, I spent $17.65 out of pocket, I received $13.50 in ECBs and 3 extra care coupons. Yep, I'm on a high. :) I'm really happy that they are all things we will use! And that the total included at least one thing that wasn't on sale, no ECBs, etc. and a few other things that we just needed. I'm sold. It may not be a weekly visit but I'll definitely be going back!

Oh, and the sales clerk was impressed at the 8 printouts. :)

The Reveal Details

Hope you are able to view the pictures of this major project below! We are thrilled with the results. Our goal was a place of peaceful retreat and we chose the colors based on what we liked and based on our year in Florida - we love the colors of the ocean and beach.

We are still waiting for our bed side tables (and then new lamps), our headboard and footboard, and one wall hanging (over the white chairs and bookcase). The furniture is supposed to arrive in the next couple of weeks - I can't wait! Oh and don't mind the box spring showing - we have a dust ruffle but can't put it on until the bed comes. :)

The bathroom and closet are close to being completed but we have had the flu this week and it seriously impeded our progress. :)

This room has to be my favorite that we've decorated. It was so fun watching our (well probably mostly mine but Andrew approved!) design ideas become reality and to create a space that is exactly what we wanted. It's a room that the whole family enjoys relaxing in - we've especially noticed that since we've been sick this week. :) Enjoy the brief tour of our newly found master retreat.

The Reveal

Free MySpace slideshows, photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Dish & Victory

So far, we really, really dislike dish network. We had to unhook it and attach our antennae just to get the Colts game this week because we had "lost" the local networks. And we are continually losing the signal. So, they are giving us two months free, they sent someone out today, and they are refunding our set-up fee. We may still return to Comcast; they want us back and will give us a much better deal than we had before. We shall see - we'll take the free couple of months first. :) But we are unhappy customers. Oh what we will do for the food network and ESPN.

In other news, I finally won a FF game after being on a really horrible losing streak! And this was in the playoffs! I'm enjoying the victory while I can. :) I meet the #1 (aka my sister) this week. I've beaten her once this season but she has beaten me the last 2 times. Good times in FF. Well, there is much to do today - we have a party here tonight. Have a great Tuesday!

True Confessions

This morning, we had dish network installed. We've had cable and decided we were paying WAY too much so we shopped around and found that dish was the best deal for us. And yes, we had the debate - do we really need cable? We watch some tv but not lots - can't we live without it? The answer? Yes, we could live productive, fine lives without 100 channels - we really just need 2. The problem? They are only available with a package and not just a basic 40 channel package.

We thought about it and decided it was worth it. :) We must have ESPN and the Food Network. True Confession #1: I'm a food network junkie. True Confession #2: I know the chefs and I have favorite shows. True Confession #3: I would seriously love to be the next food network star except that I hate public speaking and probably wouldn't actually want to be in front of a camera but look at the kitchens and ingredients! :) Andrew is, of course, crazy about football. And you see, therein lie our interests and passions. And if we are going to actually watch tv, we would rather watch something we enjoy.

So, we have dish. We'll see if we like it - the best part, we now have DVR so we can record games, cooking shows, movies etc. to watch when we have time. You may think less of us and that's okay - just remember that when you come for a gourmet meal it may be in part thanks to dish network. :)

Almost Done

Our annual Christmas letter and picture are very nearly done! We are just waiting on a few addresses but the rest are mailed or ready to be delivered! It's a giant thing checked off the list...

But I really love doing it because 1) it's awesome to pause and reflect on the past year, 2) I love receiving cards, pictures, and letters from others (hint, hint :)), 3) it's the only time we keep in touch with some people, and 4) I'm a big fan of snail mail and feel kind of sad that we mostly use e-mail to communicate these days (not that I don't use it all the time and appreciate the convenience and frugality of the web!).

I can't believe how fast this year has flown by - it's been a whirlwind of change at this house! We experienced a lot of firsts and witnessed remarkable growth (physically and otherwise) in our children. It's been a year full of joys, challenges, and triumphs. I know there is one more month in 2007 and I'm not trying to rush it away but rather to savor it with a heart of thankfulness for God's work throughout this year!