A Day in the Life

Before we had children, I didn't understand what a stay-at-home mom did all day long. I assumed it had something to do with wearing pj's, watching Oprah, and eating bon-bon's. Boy was I wrong!

A blogger that I follow posts a monthly "a day in the life" blog that I always find fun and interesting to read. She blogs about what her and her children do all day, hour by hour. She does this because she has many out-of-town relatives who enjoy feeling a part of her everyday life and also as a journal for herself to look back on when her children are older.

Now I try to do "A Day in the Life" blog once or twice a year.  It's fun to look back on and I hadn't done one in a while.  

So here was my day yesterday:     

5:45am Wake up call from Warrick, he plays InnoTab while I do devotions and pray.

6:23am read a Lego magazine with Warrick, warmed up pancakes from yesterday and unloaded the dishwasher while Warrick watched PBS cartoons

6:41am eat breakfast with Warrick and then get both of us ready for the day

7:08 am Tynnley woke up and ate breakfast while I packed Warrick's lunch and backpack for school

7:50am got Tynnley dressed, took the trash and recycling out and got the kids loaded in the car.

8am Walmart.  I forgot that Warrick had to bring 2 packs of hotdog buns to preschool today for his preschool picnic on Thursday.  Since we were there, we got an end-of-the-year gift for his teachers.

9am Preschool drop off

9:30am wrapping end of year teacher gifts and 1 load of laundry

11:30am lunch 

12:15pm put dinner in the crockpot then planted zucchini and green and red pepper seeds... with lots of help from Matt :)  Tynnley played on the slide while eating a homemade popsicle .. yogurt and pureed peaches.

1pm Tynnley's naptime; I got in a 20 minute power-nap and I read the book I got yesterday at Half-Priced Books.  LOVE IT!

2pm Matt and Warrick came home from preschool and fixed the fence while I went through Warrick's bookbag.  Preschool had sent home a lot of papers and a super cute yearbook.

2:30pm Matt left to help at Noblesville high school.  Warrick took a nap by himself... this has never happened before EVER!  He must have had a really active day at preschool.

3:45pm Tynnley woke up and helped me clean the living room.  This is a pointless chore, but we do it every once in a while so we remember what the floor looks like :)

before:

                                  

after:

4:30pm Reading and more reading.  Tynnley is in a phase where she gets a book and wants to read it like 8 times in a row.  Today was "If You Give a Moose a Muffin."  So we read it over and over and over.

5pm Warrick woke up and wanted to read too.  He picked "Stewart Little."

6:15pm Matt got home and we ate dinner:  Pineapple chicken and broccoli 

6:45pm The boys fished and Tynnley and I played outside 

7:45pm bath & bedtime

9pm read more of my book, wrote this blog, & watched Netflix with Matt  

What was your day like?  

The War on Stuff (part 2)

Does anyone have a "crazy drawer" in their kitchen?  The one that you pray that you are able to shut after each opening or the one where the moon and stars have to be perfectly aligned just to find that one utensil that you really need.

Here's mine:

Good luck finding what you need in there!  

Since I am ridding my house of things that stress instead of bless, I figured I should try and get a handle on this drawer.  

I was able to pitch 50% of what was in the drawer.  I found 9 measuring instruments for medicine... surely I don't need more than 2.  And I found numerous lids that go to nothing I currently own.  It's very bizarre what you can find cleaning out drawers :)  

This is the finished product.  Less stuff and more organized than before!  

***Bless not stress kitchen tip:

Think collapsible!  Matt's mom got me 2 of these tupperware collapsible containers one year for Christmas and they are the best.  I ended up ordering another one since I love them so much.  I was telling my mom how awesome they were and she gifted me with the measuring spoons as well.  They are such a great space saver.  

Here's a great article on purging your house of stuff!  I enjoyed reading and hopefully you will too.  :) 

What did you get rid of today?  

   

The War on Stuff

"Everything that you currently own is the stuff of future yard sales, landfills, and dumps."  

(Not sure of the reference... can anyone help me out?)  

Stuff stresses me out.  Am I the only one?

I've been going through the house lately searching for things to sell in our garage sale this weekend.  And I can't believe how much I've found to get rid of.  It's been very therapeutic.  I could never be a hoarder, I would go crazy.  I love getting rid of stuff so much that once I threw away our truck payment book... go ahead, ask Matt, he wasn't too happy.

I follow money saving mom's blog and she talks about her minimalist lifestyle, right down to her wardrobe!  She only owns a few shirts and a few pants that all can be mixed and matched together and pairs them with scarves and different accessories so that it seems like she has many more outfits than she really does.  Brilliant!  Although, I can't go that far yet...

But I've enjoyed getting rid of stuff throughout the house!  It makes the house more tidy; more room in the cabinets & closets, things are easier to find, I could go on and on.

Here's my first minimalist project.... and I'm sure all the ladies out there will be outraged.  But I have a shoe rack that fits 9 pairs of shoes.  So I put my favorite 9 pairs of shoes on it and got rid of the rest.  I don't need more than 9 pairs of shoes.

The next is my kitchen.  I like my counter-tops and the top of my fridge clear... so if I can't fit it inside my cabinets, it gets evicted.  No mercy.

I will leave you with a few pictures from Italian photographer Gabriele Galimberti's photos of children around the world with their most prized possessions.  They bring much perspective to our love of stuff.    

Most prized possessions of a little boy in Malawi:

Most prized possessions of a little girl in Italy:

You can see the rest of the pictures here.

Join me in my minimalist journey... I promise you will be less stressed and appreciate more :)  

Luke 12:15 (MSG) Speaking to the people, he went on, "Take care!  Protect yourself against the least bit of greed.  Life is not defined by what you have, even when you have a lot."

Frugal Friday!

What are your frugal accomplishments this week?

Here are mine:

1) No heat or air was on all week!  yay!

2) I made this for dinner on tuesday night... really good and really frugal :)

3) Went to some garage sales and got everything pictured here for $6

I'm excited about the brown tote... it's very sturdy and I plan to put it in between the front seats of the van.  It will be a great catch-all.  I got Warrick some great sandals that look like they've never been worn.  I got the kids some clothes and I have big plans for the pink crate.  I saw this on pinterest (below) and am going to ask Matt to make it happen.  My poor hubby, I've been asking him to do a lot of projects lately :)  

So cute... Tynnley loves to read, so we're going to attach it to the wall in her bedroom and put books in it.  

Goal-Making Monday!

"The important thing about having goals is having them."  

Geoffrey F. Albert

Usually on Monday's, I will sign on facebook and read everyone's statuses about how it's Monday again and they hate Monday's etc.  I'm beginning to think that only stay-at-home parent's can really appreciate Monday's.  I enjoy getting back to the  routine of the week.  Is there anyone else out there that enjoys Monday's?

Here are my goals for the week:

Homemaking:
Keep the ledge from my living room to my kitchen clear.  This ledge is always cluttered and it drives me crazy.  It's so easy to put things on it, but I am going to make a conscious effort to keep it clutter-free.

Here's what it looks like now... and this is a good day :)

Print out our vacation itinerary and put all info in a folder.  We have it all planned and I can't wait :)  

Continue to help Matt clean out the garage and get things ready for the garage sale in May.  Can you believe it's almost May???  I am ready for some warmer weather!

Making a lot of new recipes this week that I'm excited about.  

Intellectual:

To start a book and read the majority of it.  One of my goals for the year is to read 24 books by the end of December.  And so far I've only read 4 books.  I'm seriously slacking.  

Spiritual:

Continue reading everyday in Acts.  I found this reading plan called "Deeper Into Scripture" and it's been really cool, but more time than I usually take.  But that's a good thing.  Here is what you do:

     Read the passage 4 times. 

       First Reading: Enter. As you read this passage of scripture for the first time you are simply "entering in"

     or familiarizing yourself with what God is saying here.   Notice the circumstances, people, places, etc.

Second Reading: Impress. As you read the same passage of scripture for the second time, notice what word, phrase, sentence or verse makes an "impression" upon you.

Third Reading: Pray. As you read this passage of scripture for the third time through, begin by spending a few moments in prayer thanking and praising God for His Holy Word. As you read, be prayerfully interacting with God about the text.

Fourth Reading: Live. In this final reading of the passage ask God to show you how he wants you to live based on this scripture. Is there something he would have you start doing, stop doing or continue doing?

What are your goals for the week?

Frugal Friday! Let People Know.

Sometimes if you have a need, big or small, you just need to talk about it.  Let people know.

Just last weekend, I was on a mission to find a cheap toddler bed for Tynnley.  I went to 3 Once Upon a Child's in order to find one.  None of them had one.

I just happened to be talking about it during Saturday night set-up at church.  Someone overheard and said "I have a toddler bed you can have for free.  I will bring it next week to church."

I'm so excited!  We have generous people at our church and I feel blessed.

Don't get me wrong, I have friends on facebook that are ALWAYS looking for free stuff and it's rather annoying.  I'm not saying be like that, but it's ok to share your needs with others.


Oooo... and I got cute clothes for the kids garage sailing this morning!  I spent $4 on it all.  I found boys 5T pants with no holes in the knees, this is unheard of.  Each summer I try to get the kids fall wardrobe.  Last summer I got so many cute name-brand clothing for Warrick that never looked worn and he's the best dressed kid in preschool :)  

Happy Frugal Friday!!!

Frugal Friday!

I have recently learned about The Prudent Homemaker... she's my new frugal inspiration.

Here's a quote from her blog, "We built up our pantry while our income was good. When it stopped for 8 months, we lived from our pantry without shopping for food--for over a year. Our income since then has been cut by 70%. It's been 5 years. We continue to live primarily from our pantry and garden, find ways to lower our expenses, and make due with what we have."

Wow.  If that's not inspiring, I don't know what is.  And she has 7 kids.... 7!!!

Every week, she blogs about her frugal accomplishments.
Here are mine for the week:
1) I had a $5 off coupon for meijer if I spent $50.

2) On Monday night, I made broccoli cheese soup and cheese quesadillas.  My family loved it, it was a super frugal meal and no one said "Where's the meat?"  :)

3) My husband completed a laundry room project that I was really excited about.  This cost a little bit of  money, but it will keep me more organized and less time sorting laundry.  And time is money, right?
     

     before:                                                                                                           

                                                                                                            

after:

4) This morning I went to a few neighborhood garage sales.  It was cold, but I got a few good deals.  I spent $5 and got 2 summer pjs for Tynnley, 2 shorts for Tynnley, maternity capris, a shirt for Warrick, 2 sippy cups, and a snack catcher (pictured below).  I'm in love with snack catchers.  Otherwise, we have fish crackers all over the car :)

What were your frugal accomplishments this week?