Balancing the scales

Sometimes as parents - especially as full-time employed parents - we struggle finding a balance within our lives. We try to find a grove or a system to help us in our everyday lives to make the work/life flow a little smoother. I'm at a stage in my life where I am just having a hard time finding that groove. I do really well for a week and then the weekend hits and it's like a tornado ransacked my life and I have to rebuild it from the ground up. That is the joy of raising a split household. 

Our work week is full of work, 40+ hours of work and of course W . W has come with us to work nearly everyday since he was 5 weeks old. It's amazing and also a struggle especially when W is having a bad day. So during the workweek I still have to worry about the upkeep, laundry, food, and worrying about what is going to happen during the weekend and how to prepare for it. Thursdays and Fridays H starts his time here and so we have to worry about homework and getting to school on-time  and remember school lunches, and school events while also trying to maintain our work schedule as well. Fridays are so packed that it's a miracle we've finally got a partial system. If there is a night during the weekend where we have fast food or a quick skillet meal it's this one, otherwise we probably wouldn't eat until midnight with as long as it takes us to get all the kids and get back to the house. 

I know that most people don't care about my life schedule but I'm just trying to give a little insight into what and why it seems I'm continually trying to find a solution to make our life easier. We have no time to ourselves. We are so busy there are some nights that we find something for W to eat but don't eat ourselves because it's too much work to make a meal for 2.5 people and clean up after ourselves. There are some nights when we leave before the sun comes up and don't get home until after the sun has already set. So yes, it is extremely important to me now to find a system that will give me a little time back to myself (and sanity with it). So here are a few things I have currently implemented and or intend to implement to save time, help me stay organized, and save money.

1. Clean a little everyday-I know this sounds like common sense, and really it is, but I find that there are some nights I can't bring myself to do anything. So to combat the nights I can't do anything I have made myself a check list with different chores spread out each night/day of the week with a focus on knowing that some days/nights I'll be too busy to do much. What does my Chore list look like? Well here it is....

• MON- 1 load laundry, Sweep & Mop Floors, Dishes, Take out trash
• TUES- 1 load laundry, Clean Bathrooms (we have 3), Kitchen Counters, Dishes
• WED- 1 load laundry, Floors, Dishes
• THUR- 1 load laundry, Dishes, Change Bedding (that's 6 beds, count it SIX)
• FRI- Kitchen Counters, Dishes
• SAT- Floors, Clean Guinea Pig Cage, Dishes, Dust
• SUN- Grocery Shop, Dishes, 1 load laundry

So for some this may seen extremely simple to follow, but when you factor that some nights we don't get home til after 7pm and we have to be at work by 8am that doesn't leave a whole lot of room for these chores. 

2. Create a meal plan-I used to sit down every week and plan out exactly what we would eat over the weekend so that we were prepared when the ever so frequent I'm Hungry, can I have a snack?  came about. I fell off the bandwagon and it has cost us a pretty penny since shopping at the grocery store down the road rather than going to Wally world where I can price match based off of all the local ads, use my coupons, and my rebate apps to save my family money. If you are interested in finding out a little more about couponing or the rebate apps I recommend two websites that really help you start the process hip2save.com which was recommended by a woman in front of me at the wal-mart checkout and thekrazycouponlady.com which is another great resource with tons of video tutorials. 

3. Pare down on our belongings-It is our future goal to have our own home, some land, some chickens, and little house to go along with it. We want our lives to be about each other and our relationships but to do so it has come to our attention that we have too much stuff. This excessive stuff is what is causing us to have to constantly clean, and pick up and makes me feel like our house is closing in on me. I spend so much time focusing on the messes and making sure they are being picked up that it seems we lose countless hours with our kids, friends, and family just trying maintain.

So right now this is what I am really focused on implementing. I have a desire to spend more quality time with my family and this is how I intend on making it happen. It may not be easy but I have to make it happen or I just may tip the scale.

      

Final outfit update!

Hello Blog world! It's a miracle! I might actually get two posts in the same year. I promised pictures of the outfit after it all came together so here are a few of those pictures. Honestly this is probably these are the best pictures I got out of all 700+ pictures we took. He was just a TERROR the whole time. Can't tell here though can you?! It didn't come out 100% the way I wanted but he looks super cute anyways. So this is the final of my first blog project two years later! Here is to getting more of my projects documented for myself and my friends and family. 

 

The Joys of A Busy Life

So, I am a TERRIBLE blogger...as it is so ever present in my 2 posts that are over 2 months ago. Unfortunately LIFE is a mess in the fall/winter season for us between us both working more than full time hours and having to plan 4 birthdays and of course Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas AND New Years there really isn't a whole lot of time left over to do much else. BUT here I am trying to make up for all the lost time that I have missed posting updates and information about my not-so-little family. From the previous post I showed pictures of the outfit I had made for my little W for his first birthday. The straps were a little loose because I was originally going to put buttons on it but was WAY too tired. The overall outfit was adorable and the whole photography process was fun except that W did NOT want to cooperate and sit still. I've got a collage of the cuteness.


Ok. So, AGAIN, Let me Reiterate how terrible of a blogger I am. I started that a year ago and only made it that far. So I'm going to go ahead and post it with no further additions just to get another blip on the map here and feeling like I actually completed something. That has kind of been my new years resolution is to finish the things I started. So, here is another step towards completing ALL my projects. Next I will post some pictures of the completed outfit from his first birthday (A year and a half ago).

Photoshoot Outfit Progress

Tonight is an exciting night. We have planned to have some 1st birthday photos with our little one after work. Of course due to some mild procrastination on my part we were up til 2am putting the finishing touches on the onsie I wanted to make him. My other half was a trooper and stayed up with me because (in his own words) "he knew it was important to me." I, of course, found the idea from the marvelous Pinterest and have been wanting to do it for ages and W's first birthday seemed like just the right occasion. Here are the inspiration and the almost final product. Take a peek and let me know what you think. Keep in mind, I am by NO means a seamstress or even remotely good at sewing, I usually just make it up as I go along and it's worked so far...lol. Anywho, take a peek! Can't wait to see the outfit all together.

visit HarpersCreation if you're too busy to make your own.

Whirlwind: The origination

     Today is a BEAUTIFUL day in this semi-small town. The air has a little chill to it and the leaves are showing their amazing fall colors. I, however, am stuck in this little office just waiting for the clock to strike five so that I can go pick up the oldest of my boys from his Nana's. Today starts my weekend: The Whirlwind and hustle & bustle. It goes too fast and never leaves a dull moment.

     My not so little family is a his, mine, & ours situation. Ages range from 11 3/4 months all the way to nearly 10 years, with varying attitudes in every single one. This lovely little blog has the potential to be a plethora of different things, a photo blog, craft progress, and a journal for those moments I want to pull my hair out. My babies are the most amazing and most stressful things in this world but no one ever said raising kids was easy.
     So, here's to parenthood, parenting, raising children. Some things I'll get wrong, some things I'll get right, but if they're doing better than I did it can't all be that bad. Being (step)mom is hard. We have to be stern so our kids don't walk on us and take advantage of us (especially step-children) but we have to show them extra love because that is what mom is for...even when, as moms, we just want to curl up into a ball and cry (and we all know that it happens). From meal planning to diaper duty we have some of the most amazing (and disgusting) opportunities to create and mold the next generation. It's time we realize that our children will be responsible for what happens to us in the latter portion of our lives and if we raise foolish, uncaring, selfish children, why should we expect them to want anything to do with us as adults.