Monthly Archives: January 2013

Jan30

Where in the world is…

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Carmen SanDiego?

I’m not sure her current locale, but I can tell you where I am and where I’ve been! I’m currently hiding out in plain site while the little guy naps, trying to accomplish a bazillion things. This list includes sweeping up the crushed Cherrios I manage to keep finding throughout my kitchen!

I’ve tried to work harder on my goal of not spending a lot of time on the computer so I can focus more on my house and family, hence the lack of posting. Jonathan is ramping up the separation anxiety and teething, so I’m within touching distance of him at.all.times. Thank goodness for my Kindle app on my cell phone. I can sneak in a few paragraphs between being a human jungle gym and reading stories. I love it though and wouldn’t give it up for anything in this world!

Over the next few days/week I hope to have a few things posted. These will include Jonathan’s 9 month update (yikes! Already!!!) and a review of the 4 books and 2 short ebooks I’ve knocked out this month. Some of them you’ll definitely want to pick up! So stay tuned for those.

Life is crazy right now, but I’m thankful for it!

Jan16

30 in 30 – Days 12-15

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In a few days we’ll be halfway through the month. I hope that when that time comes, I’ll feel as if this house has come under more order than it was when the month started out.

Day 12:

Reorganize our pantry. Every now and then it gets a little chaotic. When its properly organize, not only can I see what we have/don’t have, but I can better plan meals. It also helps financially to not to buy things we don’t need. Win win.

Day 13:

Write our Compassion International child. I’ve been so bad about this the past year being pregnant and after having Jonathan and I really do regret not keeping up correspondence. That will change today!

Day 14: 

Strip cloth diapers. Some of Jonathan’s diapers are starting to smell, so it’s time to do this.

Day 15:

I have a pile of laundry that needs to the stains specially treated. Today is the day!

Jan12

We’re Almost Halfway Into January?

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Its kind of hard to believe that we’re almost halfway through the month of January. In fact, I’m finding it hard to believe that I’m 31 years old, married and have a baby. Boy time flies! I feel like I should be a little kid still, hanging out at our pool with friends, and enjoying my summer vacation. But I’m not. I’m here, planning my grocery shopping list, cutting coupons and matching to sales, and praying that the food budget I created for this month holds (I’m so green at this thing!). It’s also not summer vacation by the pool. Its dreary out and I’m mad at the weatherman for giving me the impression that it was supposed to be sunny and 70 in January.

I’m already finding myself glancing back at my goals for 2013 to see if I’m making any progress whatsoever. I know we’re only 12 days in, but for me it is good accountability.

  • For my personal goals, I’ve managed to get out once with my new jogging stroller in an attempt to reclaiming my running ways. I was going to head out today, but I doubt that will happen (thank you Mr. Weatherman). My quiet times have existed, but they’ve not been so quiet. It seems most days when I’m trying to get it in during Jonathan’s nap, he chooses that day to go for the gold in sleep fighting. I’ve finished 2 books this month, but the soda/water thing hasn’t been going as well. I need to focus a little more effort on this.
  • The marriage and parenting categories could be much better, but its hard to measure most of those goals only 12 days in.
  • Our home is getting back to normal thanks to my personal challenge  - 30 Days to Reclaim My House. I’ve managed to make up my bed every day, which is probably just as much as I’ve made it up over the past five years. Don’t judge ;)
  • I’m doing my best to be a better steward with our finances. Coupons have been clipped and compared with the weekly sales flyer. I’ve kept myself from purchasing things that are not necessary. If I find something I like, I put it on my Amazon wish list for the time being, and then I can edit it along the way! It saves me from impulse buys! I’m also using this month (and maybe a few more) to test out the cash envelope system Dave Ramsey suggests. We’re starting with our grocery category and we’ll go from there!
Jan10

30 in 30 – Days 9-11

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We’re 1/3 of the way through the month, and things are going ok! I’m trying to get things accomplished in my attempt to regain the sanity of our living space. I’m also working on my goals for this year and trying to make them habits, adding only a little in at a time so that I stick with them!

Here’s what is in store for the next few days:

Day 9:

We have a stack of papers that need to be filed- documents and bills that we’ve paid, stuff of that nature. It all needs to be sorted and filed.

Day 10:

Clean the front and back glass doors, sweep the front porch

Day 11:

Clear out excess boxes in our bonus room. I’ve been putting this off for a REALLY long time now.

Jan8

The Worst Part of the Holidays

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The worst part of holiday season HAS to be taking all the decorations down. And to be honest with you, we don’t put that much stuff up! A tree we decorate, stockings, a welcome mat and some hand towels in our downstairs bathroom. Sometimes the cookie cutters will come out and a wreath may even get put up. Beyond that, there are no really elaborate decorations that go on in my house. Nevertheless, the worst part of the holiday season is packing it all away.

Everything was put away by January 2, except the tree. Oh the tree. I hate packing it up. Even though we have bags the parts go in, it stinks trying to get it all bundled up, and packed ever so tightly in bags that, even though they say will hold 1 tree, inevitably won’t. In fact, we have one big bag, one medium bag, and I still finding myself cursing this thing every year. I put one of the larger parts in the medium sized bag, and with all my inner thigh magic, squeeze until I either burst or get the thing zipped.

And then I stop for chocolate before attempting the big bag with the the other three parts of the tree.

But alas, the tree has now come down, its all bundled up and packed tightly away in its bags to be stored in the attic…until next year when I get to utter hatred for packing it away underneath my breath.

The real upside to taking the tree down is that our living room looks larger than it previously did, which is never a bad thing. I can scoot our recliner around, and now we have even more room for the play yard. Basically, Jonathan has more room to claim as his own ;)

Jan6

30 in 30 – Days 5-8

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Day 5-

We ended up not tackling day 4 yesterday, changing the air filters and batteries in the smoke detectors. The task for day 5 was opted for instead! Joe bought me a BOB jogging stroller for my birthday a few weeks back, so we put it together in hopes that I will be able to start using it this week! With the holidays, it was easier to leave it in the box and out-of-the-way until all our company had come and gone. Hopefully we will at least get to part of the filter and battery changing today! Maybe not all of it, but if I can get at least a little of it accomplished, I’ll be happy (it’s been a busy weekend!).

Day 6-

Take down the Christmas tree. Sigh, I’m not looking forward to this at all!

Day 7-

Organize Jonathan’s clothes & keepsakes

Day 8-

Straighten bookshelves/movies in living room

 

Other than the day 4 & 5 switcheroo, I’ve managed to get everything accomplished so far! I’m looking forward to tackling the next few days and getting more of this house back in order!

Jan5

Just Hours to Go

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Don’t forget to pick up your copy of Money Saving Mom’s 21 Days to a More Discipline Life for only $0.99! Today is the last day to get this awesome ebook! I loved it and it definitely encouraged me in my journey to get things more organized around here! It is perfect if you’re working on your goals for 2013! You don’t have to have a Kindle to read it, as you can download your own reading apps to read online or on other mobile devices!

Jan5

Awesome Christmas Gift

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To say that this Christmas was awesome, would be selling it short. It was amazing. Joe, Jonathan and I were able to spend the holiday alone and enjoy our first Christmas as a family of three together.

A few days later my dad, brother, and step-mom came to visit and we had a wonderful time too! My brother brought his controller from his new Xbox and wanted to play video games with Joe. Do you think Joe minded playing video games? Of course not!!! Jonathan and I visited with my dad and step mom for a while.

New Years day brought more company when my mom, sister, and two nieces came to up for another round of Christmas fun! My mom was in heaven the entire time. She fed Jonathan, sat on the floor and played with him, helped him read his book. She’s pretty special and I love watching her with him. Definitely brings great joy to me! My sister & nieces of course added to the spoiling of Jonathan. Its like a toy store in our house now! They gave Jonathan a wagon too. I was a little impatient and put it together by myself while Jonathan was in bed and Joe was at karate. Totally should have waited as it was a two person job, and I had to put it together in the cold garage as to not wake the baby with all of my hammering!

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But the most special, precious gift of all was from my niece Ashley. It was a very personal gift to Joe and I- a slide show set to music of the last 8 months of our lives. Pictures ranging from Jonathan’s birth to pictures the day before she came to visit. Pictures of Joe and I with Jonathan, pictures of our family with him, his famous Spock picture, and his Santa-Grinch picture. Pictures I’ve taken on the fly and pictures he’s had made. It definitely brought tears to my eyes, as Jonathan is a pretty big blessing in our lives! I’m so thankful God gave Joe and I this honor of being his mom, and for my family for being so amazing and loving him like crazy!