September 101 update

My latest update on the 101 in 1001 I am attempting to do.  How many days in am I now?  175?  Need to be 17 or 18 complete, then.

1. Celebrate five strange holidays   (cheeseburger day, September 18 2023) 2/5

We 'celebrated' cheeseburger day by eating homemade cheeseburgers.  And fries.  Can't forget fries.

22. Finish cleaning barn office and redoing the awards/putting them up in frames  DONE September 2023

I'm counting this as done.  All the frames are back up on the wall.  There is still work to be done in the office as it is never ending, but the main areas I wished to tackle are complete.  My husband keeps working in there which is  'undoing' some of the progress on the counters by the computer, so that is a never ending process, haha. 

32. Create free to use items in Cricut design space (3/15)

I made a 'Raising Arrows' t'shirt for my husband as his birthday gift and since I created it using all free items on the design space in Cricut, I published it for anyone else to use as well.

37. Try to do a walk for ms or life walk or something similar (DONE September 20, 2023)

We did this in September as we joined the 1 Million March 4 Children in our area against the SOGI curriculum being pushed in schools.  I am disturbed and disgusted by the stuff they are putting in the school libraries and classroom libraries that children have access to.  I'm thankful to be homeschooling, and I'm thankful that there are many schools in the area that haven't fallen to this yet, but oh boy some of the stories I've heard from even our local area disturb me.  

42. Read entire Bible in a year (35/66 books)

I'm currently in Isaiah and 2 Thessalonians.

54. Try 10 new recipes (10/10)  (DONE October 11 2023)

This week I made a cheesy bacon soup.  It was really good!  Took a lot longer to make than I expected, though, haha.  It was on our 'dairy' calendar.  The kids sometimes spot those recipes and beg me to make them.  Also, for my daughter's birthday, I made gluten free and sugar free banana cupcakes and cream cheese frosting.  Yes, no sugar.  I used honey to sweeten a little cream cheese for her (she is avoiding all sugar).

60. Finish basement floor (DONE October8 2023)

I'm so happy to be done this now.  I mean, there is always more I could do, but I am now done the area I set to do.  I had to wait with the one zone near the washer and dryer because I had to put up the shelf in the corner first in order to be able to note where the matts would need to go to.  That's done!

61. Put up shelves for laundry room/table area (WIP)

I got the main shelf that I wanted up now.  It's for the laundry baskets.  So much nicer than before.  Now I need to make the table section and the façade for in front of the laundry sink to make it look nicer.

95. Successfully grow a garden (here and here)  DONE October 2023

Gardening for the year is done.  I didn't grow many things, only tomatoes, potatoes, and peppers.  They all grew.  Tomatoes were all tiny, but I got a lot of them.  Potatoes look good, too.  I just need to pull out all the plants now.  Peppers are only now showing up.  They are about 2 inches across.  I might need to bring the pot inside the workshop so they don't freeze and can continue growing.

20 down, 81 to go!

A Very Productive Day

 I'm feeling very excited about my Saturday this May long weekend!  

First, some backstory.  Somehow my baby got hand foot mouth disease.  May 9 she got rather cranky, wasn't eating proper, and as I saw her two incisor teeth poking out, I figured she was teething.  Normal stuff.  Saturday, a few days later, I noticed a bit of a rash on her bum, but not the normal diaper rash.  It looked like irritation.  I figured it was likely from getting some grass in her diaper as we were outside a lot that week.  Sunday, after church, one of the kids told me that they noticed some strange marks on her feet.  Little red blisters.  I hadn't seen them during her bath, they seemed to crop up overnight, and the kids love helping her get ready and dressed her for church for me.  Later that evening, I saw a couple start up on her hands.  Yup.  I really don't know where she could have caught it as we were home the entire time.  Never have we had this in the house before.  Thankfully, at church, she didn't really want to play, just cuddle with me, so I really hope nobody else caught it from her!

The following day, my son started complaining of issues.  Got a fever.  Headaches.  My 3 year old the day after that.  They had bumps on their hands (not so much the feet, though) and I think in their mouth although hard to see.  My 10 year old got in her mouth pretty bad.  Tuesday night she showed me her throat and yup.  Her hands as well.  She got sick a few days later.  So even though it was the long weekend and my husband had it off, we couldn't very well go anywhere with other people.

It was a stay at home kind of weekend.

So, Friday I had dreams of getting some jobs done that I hadn't been able to work on much (it's hard to do things outside while watching the baby).  Spent an hour with my oldest two kids and my husband shoveling sand out of the sandbox that was still in the chicken coop enclosure.  We needed that out before moving the birds back in for the summer.  They were using it as a jump off point to get out of the coop.  And the kids couldn't play in it anymore with how many tree roots made their way through the plastic into that sand.  So, we took it out!  Yay!  Very happy about that.

Next was the van and truck.  Both were filthy.  Cleaned the interior of both together with help from the kiddos.  Then my husband washed the outside of them.  Yay!  So nice having clean vehicles again!

When parking the van, I noticed how bad the garage was.  Really noticed.  This is a job I've wanted to do for years, but most of the stuff in there is for the farm, so I really didn't know what to do with it all, so I didn't tackle it.  I decided that this was the weekend!  Two of my girls decided to help me.  We moved all the siding, house reno pieces, ducts, etc into the area above the garage where I've seen plenty more of that stuff.  Still need to clean that area up, though.  Moved tools and bolts to the farm workshop.  Wood has a place in the machine shed specifically for wood, and I've been moving all the scrap pieces I've been seeing in random places to that location as I find them.  Made piles for trash, things to keep on the shelf, etc.  Wiped off all the shelves and put things back.  I now have 2.5 empty shelves (except for an old scale I couldn't lift)!  And that is after putting all our chairs, umbrella strollers, sleds, etc on there!  The side area is cleared except for the buckets for the collustrum company, and they are so much easier to get now, too!  And we swept it all out!  We didn't get the one area with the old truck, though.  The battery is fried, and a rusty bolt snapped while my husband was trying to get it out, so we need to tow it.  There is stuff there, but I cannot reach it currently, so I'm leaving that for now.

I am so very happy with all the work we got done!  Today I was gifted some tomato starts from my brother in law and his fiancé (so excited!  They're getting married soon!), and he helped me get a bunch of tubs from in the barn drilled and filled with dirt/sand/manure so I could plant!  I spent a bunch of time working on that, and the chicken coop today.

Well, that's all for now!  Been really happy with the beautiful weather we've had recently!  SO nice to get outside again!

The Unwanted House Guest

Last weekend, we found out that we had an unwanted houseguest.  He was only about 3 inches long, but he sure did cause a stir.  And most of the time, we didn't even know he was there.  Sure, he was quiet.  He mostly ate what ended up on the floor.  He kept to himself most of the time.  Regardless, he was NOT wanted in my home!

So, upon the first time seeing him (Friday night, running across my kitchen floor), we set up the trap.

It was a good trap, so I thought.  We'd used it many years ago and it did the job well.  But this guest would have none of it... or maybe it was allergic to peanut butter.  Needless to say, I thought we'd have this guy caught the first night, setting the trap under the stove.  Nope. 

Saturday, while we were watching TV after the kids were in bed, our guest decided that what was on the tube was particularly frightening and ran under our couch.

Out came the trap once again.  This time in our living room.  Thankfully, this is the sort of trap that I don't have to worry about with the kids as it does not snap, and no little fingers would be hurt.  It went behind the couch.

I swear, this guest was against peanut butter.

Sunday we baked brownies, and I decided to put some in our trap, and we set it under the range once again. 

He doesn't like brownies either.

Monday afternoon I noticed, to my chagrin, that our little houseguest started snacking in my pantry.  Also, to my horror, that he had a higher reach than I thought possible.  Not just the bottom shelf (there was nothing for him to snack on there, anyway), the second shelf had dessert for him (he got into my white chocolate melts... nothing else was touched as it was all in plastic containers or unopened bags and I suppose he wasn't interested either way), the third shelf... well... that was a mess.  We just bought a new bag of popcorn, and there happened to be a hole in the bag when my husband purchased it (I remember that distinctly... it was just large enough for one kernel to fall through).  Our guest made the hole bigger and proceeded to munch away at a number of the kernels.  Had a feast there.  I was thankful that almost everything was in plastic containers at this point (all my baking goods... I love me some Tupperware).  Next shelf up was a different set of doors, and fortunately for him, my cabinet doors are so old that they don't close properly. 

I think I want a new kitchen.

I trashed everything that was open in the upper cabinet... which wasn't too much, thankfully, and most of those things were candy or mostly eaten already, so it wasn't a terrible loss.  Wasn't happy about the hole he made in my egg noodle bag. 

The vacuum came out, the cleaning cloths, the extra plastic containers, and I went to work scrubbing down my pantry.  It is really nice and organized and clean now!

I then went to work under the oven and fridge.  Well, it was no wonder our trap hadn't caught him, he didn't seem to like going under the oven.  There were telltale signs of his visit under the fridge, but our trap wouldn't fit there... so we grabbed one of the more 'traditional' traps and set it up after the kids were in bed.  With cream cheese.  Because we figured with all that popcorn and chocolate, he might like some cream cheese to give his belly the taste of 'cheesecake' and all that.

Not half an hour later, we heard a SNAP!

So, the houseguest overstayed his welcome (which was never there to begin with), and we took him to visit the cats.  The story isn't all bad, though.  I now have a clean pantry, trashed a number of unhealthy food items, and my floor is clean under the fridge and range.  Also gave the one cabinet that is missing a door a good cleaning, but it doesn't look like he found that area interesting, thankfully.

I then felt the need to scrub the garbage can, vacuum everywhere, and dust all sorts of things.  I still wish to scrub the floor with vinegar.

Bottom line... don't overstay your welcome, or you may become cat food ;)
(but I'll get a cleaner house out of the deal)

By the way, we left our traps in place in case he has family or friends that figure they can party... they just might have a 'smashing' good time. 

Savings Wednesday (cause it ain't Sunday no more!) - Personal Care

Oops... can you say I've been busy?  Yeah... uh... busy.  Anyway, funny thing is, I actually had this post half done already and I still didn't get it up on Sunday!  Oops.  Well, you get it today instead.  :)  Hope you like it!  As a bonus, I'll write in a few more things... some tried and true, some I've not tried, but are probably true (ha ha).  So, let us begin!

Hair - Shampoo and conditioner can be replaced completely with baking soda. Actually, you will find you need less styling products as well. I usually don't style my hair. For 3 months now I have changed how I wash my hair by not using shampoo or conditioner. Shampoos strip your hair of their natural oils, oils which actually help your hair hold styles. Now for the first while it was weird to not have sudsing on my hair, and I felt like my scalp was overcompensating in the oil department, but now having had no shampoo for three months, I can honestly say this works well! My hair even has a little bit of a wave to it, it has more volume, and it holds ponytails better. No hair products. To do this, use baking soda mixed with water in an old shampoo bottle. Shake and apply to the roots of your head. Scrubbing well is difficult, but you really want to rinse it all out. Use apple cider vinegar on the tips of your hair as it helps repair any damage. A spritz bottle works nice for this. And don't worry about the smell, it rinses out completely.

Added bonus - not using shampoos and conditioners means having less chemicals, and xenoestrogens (you know, the ones that have caused an awareness for BPAs, but still manage to make it into most of our skin care products?) that are entering your body!  And yes, your skin is an organ and will absorb a portion of what you put on it.  And fragrances?  Most of these are actually phthalates, which are a source of xenoestrogen (source - a book called 'Jump Off the Hormone Swing' by Lorraine Pintus... I highly recommend it!).  I have a high sensitivity to fragrances and phthalates, so I have had to limit my exposure to them already.  Doing the 'no shampoo' treatment has actually decreased my exposure even more!  As for my eczema... still there, but not nearly as debilitating as it once was.  And it just feels good knowing that I'm decreasing my kids exposure to xenoestrogens, which have been shown to cause problems with not only the feminine cycle, but have also decreased the testosterone in men...

Toiletries - You can also find recipes to make your own deodorant, toothpaste, etc. I haven't tried any of these yet.  I'm hoping to start... mainly with toothpaste!

Razors - Did you know that you can save your razors and use them beyond what you normally do?  When your razor starts to feel like it just isn't cutting it (snicker), just push it backwards over your arm.  No kidding.  Some would rather use a strip of leather specifically for this purpose, but my husband and I have been using our arms, since, you know, we have that readily available!  ;)  I am not even kidding you, since we started doing this, my husband has not needed to buy razors near as often.  He used to go through one per week... two if he was stretching it.  His last one has lasted over a month already.  In other words... HALF the cost on razors, just by pushing it backwards on your arms once it starts feeling like it just isn't working for you.  As for me... my razors last a REALLY long time.  I think I've pushed this one over a year now.  Not sure if that is amazing or kinda sad...

BONUS:
Sunscreen - This will probably throw some people off... but this is actually NOT a necessary purchase.  There are parabins in sunscreen that are known carcinogens... and these parabins work in relation to the sun.  What?  Yeah... your sunscreen may actually be the one causing those strange marks on your skin that the doctor is a bit concerned over.  I'm not kidding.  I decided to forgo the sunscreen this year (using a hat instead... and the shade)... and I found another trick that I'm using to boost my natural SPF.  No soap.  You heard me.  Instead of using soap over my whole body, I use it sparingly where needed.  Otherwise, I use a scrubby to wash... without the body wash.  And I noticed that my skin has upped its SPF.  I usually burn so quick, and I haven't burned yet this year... and this weekend we were at the fair, in the sun, for hours at a time.  My kids... they haven't burned either (only soap where necessary for them as well).  Washing your body daily with soap actually burns out your skin (again, by stripping it of your body's natural oils which are produced to protect your skin).  Yeah.  So in addition to having a higher natural SPF, I also don't need moisturizers anymore!  Ta DA!

Just as a side note, I've been learning more and more about how wonderfully God has designed our bodies through this process (and through the whole healing challenge... my eyes have been opened to more and more).  To put it in a nutshell, here it is...

God's design is perfect.

Only in man's methods of trying to make things 'better than perfect' have we actually been causing more harm to our bodies than good.  I could write an entire book on things I've found, from the way our bodies remove harmful substances, to the remineralizing of cavities in our teeth, all of which have been hindered by the very products that are supposed to 'make them work better'.  Look up tooth remineralization and be amazed.  Research our skin and it's oils and sit in awe.  Then there are all the organs we cannot see, and the amazing things they do to make our bodies heal themselves.  And why do our bodies need to heal themselves?  Actually, most of the problem is found in our 'food products'... the ones that were processed by men to 'make them better'?  Yeah.  And the pesticides in our water and on our produce?  That too.  Then there are GMOs (one of the biggest reasons there is a much higher allergy rate to things like gluten and nuts than ever before), sugar (basically, look at this as though it is a drug... because it sure is treated like one in our bodies), soy products (xenoestrogen alert)... I could go on.  Basically, I want to get back to doing things as naturally as possible lately.  Back to what God made, not what Man made.  I won't be doing this 100%, but definitely more than I used to.

Oh, and if I could tell you one thing to NOT do... DO NOT consume any Aspartame (or Sucralose).  Just... don't do it.  Look it up, it is terrible.  Oh, and since companies have figured out that consumers are figuring that out, they are changing the name that these man-made sweeteners are labelled as.  I am not kidding you (don't believe me?  Look that up too.  I don't remember where I saw it, but I've seen it in a few places now).

Just a little food for thought... that I somehow decided should go on this 'Savings Sunday' post... cause it's a Wednesday, not a Sunday, and I'm weird like that!  ;)

Savings Sunday - Organizing/Cleaning

Hello, and welcome to another Savings Sunday!  Today I will be writing about some money saving tips in regards to cleaning and organizing the house.

Organizing - Reuse the containers your food comes in.  I've been saving and reusing the plastic containers from berries, organic greens, etc.  I use them to package cookies as gifts, for the kids toys to sort them (great because they are see through) and for organizing dried goods in my pantry.  Keeps things contained and easy to find, giving me more space to put my potatoes.  :)

Cleansers - Another way to save money is to use vinegar and baking soda for just about everything.  Clean your kitchen sink with it instead of buying other cleansers.  Clean your oven by making a paste of baking soda and water and smearing it on the inside, then let it sit for an hour or two and wipe it all out.  You can get the racks clean by soaking them in the tub with one cup of dishwasher detergent (apparently there are recipes to make this as well) and really really hot water (put an old towel down on the bottom of the tub first to prevent scratching).  You can clean windows with vinegar and newspapers rather than Windex.  Really, if you look around online you will find so many things you can use these two items on... instead of buying cleaners.  And, they are non toxic and food grade, so you don't have to worry about the kids... as much...

Another tip on baking soda - If you can purchase it bulk at the grocery store (think Costco, or the giant box in the baking aisle of your local supermarket), you will get a better bang for your buck, but the best soda for your dollar can be found at feed plants.  Yes... for cattle.  It is not the same quality as the stuff you get in the store (hasn't been processed and 'cleaned' to the same degree as it's for use in cattle feed, so I wouldn't recommend it for baking as the quality is down), but you'll pay WAY less.  I only figured this out recently (you'd figure I'd have caught on with our own cattle feed purchases over the last 6 years of doing the bookwork, but for some reason I was clueless on this.  Probably because it is called Sodium Bicarbonate on the forms and although I knew that name was Baking Soda, I didn't really make the connection until I saw the bags this week with the little arm and hammer symbol on them).  Same thing with Epsom Salts.  If you can get them from the feed company and have the storage space (remember, these things cost much less per 100 grams, but you're getting a 25kg bag), you can save a lot (again, the Epsom salts aren't perfectly 'clean' in that there might be a stone or two in there per cup of salts, but for a bath it doesn't really matter).  I would be cautious however as some feed companies will charge more per bag (or may not sell it to you) if they know it is for household use instead of for feed.  Lucky us, living on a farm! 

Laundry detergent - if you are like me you will have found that this is a pricey item in your house.  I found out that I can make my own for much cheaper.  I buy the soap bars in the laundry aisle for $1 a bar, grate them, and then put in 1/2 a tablespoon each of grated soap, borax, and washing soda into my dry soap compartment of the he washer.  I have only been doing this about a month, and so far so good.  I found a recipe for melting the soap and making a 'sauce' from this which is supposed to be better for keeping soap residues off the clothes, and I may give that a try with the second bar of soap when the time comes.  For now, this works great. 

Washing cloth diapers - For my diapers I use 1/2 tablespoon of washing soda with 1/2 tablespoon of baking soda in the dry soap compartment.  No soap residue on the diapers.  To strip them I use a large bucket and put them in with a bunch of boiling water.  Yeah.  And a small scoop of washing soda.  Or lemon juice.  Not both together though.  Then I 'rinse and repeat' until the water is clear.  Then I throw them in the machine again for good measure.  To 'bleach' them, I use the sun.  Oh, but don't put your snappi covers in the boiling water as it could potentially melt the snaps.  I put my covers in once it was cool enough that I could stick my arm in there.

Nesting or Renovating... Staying or Moving...

I do not feel like a good person today.  Somehow, everything I do makes someone snappy (either me or my husband... and when it's me I feel like a terrible person).  Somehow, every decision I make doesn't sit right in my gut.  Somehow... everything just feels so wrong.  My world is turning upside down, and crying isn't going to fix any of it.

I don't even know why I'm posting this.  Maybe it's a cry for help... or prayer, or something.  I just don't know myself today.  I can't do this.  I don't feel secure in anything right now.  What I have 'known' for so long is being ripped out, and I just don't have the capacity to handle it.  I can't make my house work properly for my family, no matter how hard I try.  Ideas are made, ideas are lost, new ones are created, and none of them feel right at all.  I'm trying so hard to make things work, to reorganize, remix, refigure... but it seems like it's all for naught.  I've packed away so many things today that I just don't know what is happening anymore.  I have ideas to make my craft room/sewing room work, but I can't get my jigsaw working, I can't get things cut beyond what my small mitre saw can do, and I'm at a loss.  I've done a lot in our house to organize things... and I have much more I really want to do, but I can't get there.  I'm stuck.

And as for the bedrooms...

We were going to take our bedroom and turn it back into two bedrooms, as it was originally.  It would work well, I figure.  We put in an easy wall, no drywalling needed, where the wall used to be (difficult to explain here unless I have pics, which I don't, so I won't bother).  Needless to say, simple.  Probably only $50 cost total.  Then we put a door back where the old door used to be.  Well, we thought we had a door.  Apparently not.  Meaning we'd have to buy a door and frame.  That's not too pricey for a 28" wide door.  I've been reorganizing our bedroom closets, taking down our collections in our bookshelves and putting them all into storage, etc.  Then the idea of having the kids share the downstairs spare room as a bedroom came up.  That room is huge.  Their current room is about 12x10?  Maybe?  If that?  The room they'd move into if ours was split into two would only be a few inches shorter in the one direction, and has a walk in closet.  No dresser needed... which brings about a LOT of space in the long run.  Still cozy and would work fine.  Our room would be a lot smaller, and everything in our current room closets would need removing to make way for our clothes, but it's totally doable, and in my opinion, cozy and nice.  Nursery would become the nursery again, and I'd put our rocking chair back in, have everything set up for baby, etc.  I liked the idea. 

The spare room is huge.  15x15.  With a deck door (which is now sealed with plastic as it was not installed correctly and you could feel the cold air coming in... badly... I really thank my parents for sealing that off!  It will make a huge difference).  The room is cold.  It WAS full of 'stuff'' and I used it as my craft/sewing area for awhile.  The office was being turned into a compatible space for this (my project that needs a jigsaw, you see, has halted my progress).  It is a lovely room... but not for a bedroom.  It's right by the front door of the house.  It has more windows than any other room in our house (in fact, I'd say total window space is larger than that of the entire second floor all together).  It is a living room.  Our current living space has NO windows... just a deck door that leads into a workshop... I really do not like the idea of my 2 and 4 year old sharing that huge, cold, room as a bedroom.  Not one bit.  My parents figure I'd love it in the long run... but I just can't wrap my head around it.  But moving us into that room means we'd share a room with the baby for a rather long time.  Why?  I'm not hiking it up a flight of stairs multiple times a night to nurse.  And we found out quick with our son that sharing a room prevents any of us from sleeping through the night.  The day we moved him into the same room as our daughter, all of us slept.  All of us!  And it took us ten months to figure that out.

I just don't know what to do.  We're looking at buying a house, but nothing is standing out right now.  We've looked at a few places, and while many of them are really nice, none feels right.  There was one that did the first time we saw it... and then the second time we looked it just... didn't... something was off about it.  Either way, it is still in the back of my mind because of that first viewing, but I just don't know anymore. 

I want to trust God in all of this.  My husband has been looking around and doing his research in a number of things (when I said I feel our world is turning upside down, I mean it), and I am trying my best to do what we feel God is leading... and yet... I don't know where He is leading us.  I feel torn between so many different places right now, and I just don't know.  I want to be ready for whatever is thrown our way, but I just don't know how to go about it.  Decluttering is one thing we can do I suppose... and the second I start I feel like I must be the worlds worst pack rat.  I have a million projects I wish to finish that have been started... and I don't know what to do with them all.

My workshop is now a mess... I cleaned and organized it earlier this month.  My basement feels like a disaster (although I know it isn't TOO bad), and I cleared everything out of it a few weeks back before the plumber came in.  These are rooms we hardly go into.  I just feel like crying, as I can barely keep up with my kitchen, dining room, and office... rooms that need reorganizing and a frequent cleaning multiple times a day to stay sane.  I just don't know what to do anymore.

I know, I'm ranting.  I feel at a complete loss, though, and I just don't know how to deal. I'm trying to organize my thoughts... and I still feel as though I want to turn our one bedroom into two instead of turning that spare room into a bedroom... but it feels as though renos aren't a good idea, especially if we are looking to move.  I just don't know when we'll move.  Or even if we will.  I feel like God wants me to be ready to stay for awhile yet, but that I'm also supposed to be ready to move at a moment's notice.  I just want to cry. 

And I'm due in three weeks.  And that terrifies me.  I'm NOT ready to have this baby!

I just don't know what to do.  I don't feel comfortable with anything right now.  Not at all.  And I feel that no matter what I am doing to try to make the situation work, it doesn't work.  I know that isn't completely true, but it feels that way.  I am not feeling secure.  I am not feeling peace.  I am not feeling safe.  My house is not mine.  And it only started to feel that way the last few months.

One really good thing about today though... we removed a lot from the house.  It was mostly garbage, things I'd already said would be removed, and recycling, but still.  Now if only I could bring myself to sell stuff online through facebook or something, maybe we'd be able to get rid of more. 

Growing Up

My little ones are growing so fast. I am constantly adding clothes to the 'too small' box, especially for my son. M is going to the potty on her own now! I'm so proud. Yesturday is when it started. She ran up to me announcing 'I went pee, mommy, I went pee all by myself! I wiped bum, mommy, all by myself!" I'm so proud! We're still having a tough time with going #2 on the potty, however. That generally happens in the diaper after going to bed. Or she'll sit on the potty for awhile and not go, say she's done, then do it all again 5 minutes later, then go in her pants. Sigh. We'll get there yet... she knows when she HAS to go!

Bram is growing in so many ways. He knows to do what I say. If I tell him to put something back, he does (most of the time... other times he'll grin at me and run). He loves playing outside. He saw the cows today... 'moo' he said. And dogs he barks and howls at. His vocabulary has been growing, too. "All done", "Uh oh", "Aw man", "Water", "ssss" (please... doesn't happen as often as I'd like, however), "Mom", "Dad", "bye"(accompanied by waving up and down), "hi", "Whassat" (what's that), "Up" (VERY clearly), "no", nodding for yes, making sound effects for vehicles, 'car' (I think this is a personal favorite of his), 'GO', and 'light'. I also think he's saying 'outside' but it's hard to tell. I'm sure there are others, I just can't think of them. Whenever vehicles drive by he wants to go for a ride. He LOVES tractors and trucks. So cute. When walking down the aisle at the toy store, he saw a barbie car and proceeded to cry when I wouldn't stop to let him touch it. Then when I figured it out, he just wanted to play with the steering wheel. Silly boy! He also loves all of my husband's transformers... because they are cars! Haha. And toy tractors. We have some in a glass display case. As you can imagine, it is filled with fingerprints 3feet and down. I clean it daily right now. At least until they figure out not to touch it all the time (it's still somewhat new, so we must play with it, haha).

Bram is figuring out all sorts of things right now. I found a Unicron transformer at a garage sale, and Bram found the buttons to make it light up and such. My husband took a while to figure out where they were (frankly, I still don't know, haha, but I don't care to search for them, either). He found the little button on a talking purse... just like M did... so he makes it talk without actually opening or closing it. He also likes using a fork. He holds it with one hand, and shovels food into his mouth with the other! :P At least I don't have to feed him myself any more.

Man, I can't really think much right now. I've spent all day cleaning, cooking, and doing a cubbies lesson with my daughter. She loves cubbies! Talks about her vest all the time, and always wants me to read her cubbies book. I'm so glad she enjoys it! She is learning her verses really well, too! Although right now she things Jackie made the flowers, and Daddy made the pumpkins (giggle). This week was talking about creation. "Genesis 1:1 God created the heavens and the earth". She still wants to say "God love us, sent his son" instead, (smile). It's so sweet. I love watching her learn Bible verses. I'm also trying to do the review section each week with the activity there. She loves those.

Well, my husband is getting the kids bathed and ready for bed right now. It's nice to have a little quiet time. That said, tomorrow will be a busy day. It is wednesday after all. And I'm doing spring cleaning in fall. And Cubbies is tomorrow. Ah yes... M will be thrilled. :)

Until next time!

I'm still Around

It has been a long time since I posted. So much for trying to keep it up. Oops. Ah well.

This week I've been focussing on fall cleaning. Ok, really it's spring cleaning... in fall, haha. Last week I managed to 'wash' my living room, dining room, hall, stairway, and entrance. Including interior windows, vacuuming (I will be renting a rug doctor to acutally 'clean' my rugs vs just vacuuming), walls (scrubbed those good), organizing any closets/drawers/counters, dusting EVERYTHING, and purging. I feel good! I even cleaned the furniture (I love microfiber cloths). My entrance took less time than I expected too, since I can take my boot matts to the barn and 'pressure' wash them! No scrubbing required! And they look oh so clean now! Eeee!

That was last week.

This week I'm trying to do the 'rest' of the house. Not including rugs. That's next week. Although, I have to say, I am missing a few little things here and there that I may also need to do next week. Like taking apart my faucets and cleaning the rust out of them (did my bathrooms today... those faucets are bad. Cleaned the exterior really well, though). Or waxing the shower walls. I may do that this week anyway... if I have any polish wax stuff I can use. They get so full of rust so quickly. Yesturday I did the bedrooms. Blah. Worst. Rooms. Ever. So much furniture to move, so much to vacuum, so much laundry to do. I also washed ALL the windows and curtains. Yay me! That said, I had to re-clean all the windows/glass at child levels again today. And will have to again tomorrow. Sigh. I also cleaned our old desk (couldn't find a new one at prices we wanted) and we moved our office back into the office! Yay! It looks nice, even though I don't have all the shelving I want yet. I have plans, I tell you... PLANS! They will cost money though. Mmmm... shopping!

I'm really proud of the closet organizing I've been doing. My bedroom closets are so clean! And at least they will stay that way for awhile (unlike most of the other cleaning I've been doing).

Today's bathroom cleaning went well as well. I even scrubbed the floors on hands and knees (not saying much, since there isn't much floor to scrub, haha).

I am dealing with something frustrating regarding fall cleaning. Why is it that we can go years without exploding diapers in our crib, until the day after I've done all the cleaning I have... I had to change all his bedding this morning (after having spent so much time doing laundry and stuff yesturday). Sigh. At least I didn't have to rewash EVERYTHING in the room. There were other things too. Just after cleaning, we end up with drool on this, and diaper residue (yuck) on that, and stinky rooms (which had moments before smelled fresh and lovely) because of ... well... stink. Sigh.

Sometimes I wonder why I bother. And then I look at my really filthy rag and know that in the end, it really is worth it. Goodbye dust! Please stay away for a while longer!

A Cleansing

Anybody out there like spring cleaning?  Ok... rephrase that.  Anybody like the aftermath of a good spring cleaning? 

I've been itching to spring clean my house.  It IS spring, after all.  Unfortunately, I cannot.  Or at least, it's not worth it right now, since we are renovating the office.  Once the dust has settled and the walls/ceiling mud is done, sanded, and all painted (and the floors are put in), spring cleaning of my house will commence, but until then... it isn't worth it.

Did I mention the layers of drywall dust that coat everything in sight, even when no dust has been stirred in that room, and after dusting?  Yeah.  Not fun.  Dust everything in sight just to have a new layer coating it all over again days later.  Nope.  Not happening.

Ok ok... I admit... I've been dusting anyway.  I can't help it.  I can NOT operate in a dusty house!  Especially the kitchen, ick.

Anyway, I digress.

This post is not about cleaning houses (mainly because I can't really do mine right now, and it's driving me nuts).  No, it's about cleansing bodies.

I have an item on my 101 list... to do a 30 day colon cleanse... and I aim to do it.  Soon.  Ok, within the next month (hopefully).  In addition to this 'cleanse', I want to detox.  Although, you can't do much of a detox if you have a clogged colon... right?  So, I'm taking things one step at a time, doing what I can at home right now without one of those detox/cleansing kits.  Those kits are expensive.  And the most recommended kit, the one I really want to buy, is Dr Natura's Colonix program and Toxin Out program.  Unfortunately, they no longer ship to Canada.  Boo.  I've done the colonix program over 5 years ago, and it was great.  Now I can finally do one again, and they don't ship here.  I may just have to use Mike's Parcel Pickup once again.  It would be in within a week.  That said, to get 2 colonix packs for me, one for my husband, and one Toxin out for each of us, plus 2 packs of Vitamin D pills (on sale, 60 pills each at 5000UI per pill for $9... which is better than the exact brand of 240 pills at 1000UI each for $10, since I have to take 5 of the suckers a day... blech), costs almost $300.  Ouch.  But if I get renewed energy, sleep better at night, and if this eczema finally leaves me (if only for a little while), it would be worth it, right?  Still... ouch.  Although, the cleansing kits at the health store in town aren't much better in terms of cost.  A 7 day colon cleanse is $25.  Bring it to 30 days and... well... pricey (they even say that 7 days isn't enough for a proper cleanse on the box).  A 30 day cleanse for the liver and kidneys (I'm not sure the kit does heavy metals as well...) is $55.  Which is the same price as the Toxin Out program when purchased with the Colon cleanse (which is a high recommendation in general... which I would do anyway).  And it doesn't include the flora pills to replenish good colon bacteria, which the Toxin Out does (each bottle is almost $20).  So, I guess it would be cost effective.

Still... $300....

Anyway, right now I'm trying to do things at home to help my body detox and cleanse... somewhat.  And to lose weight and gain energy.  I haven't been working out much... in a long time.  I've been doing belly dance, but that's about it.  Well, Monday I decided to put myself on a strict regimen. 

- Each morning, I dry brush myself to start the day (although not as thoroughly as described here... mine only takes 2 minutes).  I do a better one before showers.  I also make sure I drink a full cup of water before I do anything.  I follow it with a second cup before breakfast. 

- I keep track of my water consumption, aiming for 70 oz per day. 

- I have heard of many benefits of drinking tea, so I make sure to have one cup of green tea per day. 

- When I went to a micro-analysis years ago (man... has it really been 10 years?), she taught me something to help stimulate the colon.  A belly massage of sorts.  I do this for 5 minutes a day, prior to belly dancing, which I do prior to a major workout.  The massage is supposed to take place with your body at a 45 degree angle... butt up, head down, on your back.  I use the recliner with pillows stuffed underneath.  M thought it was hilarious. 

- The last daily thing I do... is a workout.  Ever heard of the 30 day Shred with Jillian Michael's?  Yeah... that one.  Bought it before I got pregnant with Bram, started it, got to about 15 days, couldn't do anymore (I was pregnant... didn't know at that point), and haven't picked it up since.  Yeah.  Did day 2 today.  MAN that is ONE HARD workout!  M thought it was great.  I have Pilate's balls I use as my weights (too cheap to buy a set), and M grabbed some balls from her toys to hold as she did the workout with me.... awwww!

I also want to do a mineral soak (ok, fancy name for a soak in a hot tub filled with Epsom salts... my sis in law told me that to detox with this you need to have about 10 cups of the salts in there for one bath.  I think I am going to be buying the barn's brand.  Much cheaper than what you pay in the store for them to add a little bit of dried lavender to).  There are a few recipes out there.  I don't know if Epsom salts really help you detox, but they do feel wonderful in the bath, and if it helps me relax, that will reduce free radicals in my body and will promote well being... right?  So, cheap salts... great.  Here is a recipe for a 'detox' bath.  Seems a bit like a soda bath as well, huh.  Here's another page with other 'bath' info.  I want to do an acidity test on myself to see if I'm overly acidic.  If so, I think I'll try that apple cider vinegar bath... although it doesn't sound too appetizing.

So yeah.  Here I go, attempting to do a bunch of weird things that probably have not been tested or have any scientific merit in cleansing the body.  But hey, I'm doing something, right?  Baths are relaxing (which is good), dry brushing is stimulating (another positive thing), the massage I have noticed IS affecting my... ahem... movements (and only on the second day, yes), tea is just good, and water... well, that IS proven.  So is exercise (in terms of making me feel better, too).  Although, right now my muscles are sore.

I'm looking forward to doing a colon cleanse.  Weird... I know.  (hey, if I can't clean my house, I might as well clean my body, right?).

Anybody else have strange detoxing methods they've used that worked for them?

Challenges

Well, I posted at the end of September what the challenges for September were... and concluded that they would also be for October.  Last week I challenged myself to wash all the outside windows and to paint the doorframe (which desperately needed it).  This week I didn't challenge myself in anything outside.  I've been failing at this lately.  Ah well, my focus this week has been on getting things ready for the book launch, getting the third quarter for the farm paperwork done (believe me... not fun), and working on costumes for next week friday as my sister and her fiance are having a 'costume party' in the place of a wedding social.  It promises to be a lot of fun!  I'll be dressing up our whole family as the Mario gang (Mario, Peach, Toad and Toadette), hopefully for under $10 (it has only cost $5.25 so far).  Hardest part is that I need to sew my dress from scratch... and have been having nothing but issues with the pattern (back of the pattern said I was a size 16, and the pattern itself said I was an 8... which I noticed only after cutting the fabric for a 16... yeah, not really thinking on my part).  My kiddos costumes will be easy enough... just need to make the headpieces and use regular clothes for the rest.  My husband needs his hat made, and maybe a 'moustache' as well.  And I still need to find blue overalls (jeans would work fine, but I haven't seen anything at the mcc yet).

So, I suppose my challenge for this week and the next is to finish four costumes.  I also want to do a little raking (which I did yesturday... some), plant some bulbs for tulips for next spring (maybe tomorrow), and I would love to spray my yard for weeds.  Yuck.  I've got plenty.  And maybe fertilize.  That won't be until next week, though.

I need to take a look at my 101 list yet and do a post on that... and hopefully get a few things on there done as well.  Yikes.  Where has the time gone?  I can hardly believe it!

Can you believe my little boy is 5 months old already?  I can't... although he's big enough to be growing out of his 3-6month clothes already...

Have a great weekend!  :)  And happy thanksgiving to all my fellow Canadians!  :)

Turkey, anyone?

The month that FLEW

This month just flew right by... I never had a chance to post what the challenges for the month would be!  Hark, is that crickets in the background?

This month I really focused on getting the outside ready for winter (although I did do things inside, too)... here are a number of things I wanted to do... some of which did not get done, and will hopefully happen in October.

- scrubbing entrance
- pressure wash house
- set up stone area
- finish fire pit
- fertilize lawn
- spray lawn for weeds
- spray other areas to kill grass and weeds
- trim trees
- get rid of dead trees
- cover a/c unit
- check/fix any weatherstripping
- service heater
- painting outside where necessary
- cleaning windows (exterior)
- fixing patio (shifting stones back into place)
- fixing sidewalk (uncovering it)
- draining and putting away hose
- putting away all outside lights that cannot be out for winter
- going through clothes (mine and the kids) and swapping out seasonal stuffs.
- use up those other square bricks on the yard (tired of a 'pile 'o bricks' in front of our vehicles each year)

It's a long list, but it needs to be done.  I've been working hard this last month, and hope to do more shortly.  It's kinda fun to watch the leaves change color as I work on my yard.  I haven't prepped for fall much in previous years besides the absolute necessities...

We'll see where I get this next week.  I am not looking forward to the windows.  I want to have a bonfire on Friday.  Was going to have it today, but it's been raining all week and the fire pit is currently a bit waterlogged.  Sigh.  Well, so is the rest of the yard, but the fire pit area didn't grow the grass seed I planted (bad seed equals loads of work with no reward... grrrrr), so it is worse off because of it.  Hoping for dry weather this week so we can pull off a bonfire on the first!  I want to decorate a birthday cake, haha.

Later, gaters!  :)

Seriously?

Has it been 2 weeks already?  My goodness.  I've not been blogging much (spending too much time playing petville on facebook... crazy addictive games...).

So, last week my zone was the bathroom, so in keeping with that, my relaxing challenge was to soak in the tub (which I did on Saturday, haha).  I never did go swimming the week prior. We were going to go camping, but the weather didn't cooperate, so we planned to go to the local pool, but it was booked solid and packed (no good with two little kids), so it didn't happen.  Maybe during the week sometime later in the month.  It will have to be a weekday.  The pool is packed on weekends.  Anyway, this week (bedrooms this time) I challenge myself to go to bed earlier than 11pm.  Would seem easy enough... but funny how that is actually quite the challenge.

On another note, my potty training hasn't happened yet, although M is noticing when she needs to be changed much more so now.  I still have to ask her sometimes, but she stops, takes note if she does, then if so she says 'yes' and heads for the change table.  Or the potty.  She likes the potty.  Yesterday at my parents house she actually fell into the toilet, haha.  She was sitting fine, but I guess she moved backwards a bit, then 'splash'.  She wasn't too thrilled.  I'm sure that was some cold water! 

Today I spent some time and effort on the bedrooms.  Rearranging furniture!  Serious!  I moved a bookshelf in our room so we had room for the crib, took the crib out of M's room and set it up as a nursery in ours, then put her mattress on the floor for her to nap on (which she did great, by the way.  Stayed there until I got her up from her nap, too!  Crazy!).  I have her toddler bed washed and sanded, I just need to buy some primer and paint.  Maybe I'll finish that this week.  Oh, we moved the rocking chair into our room too, and placed a NON rocking chair (the one that was previously in our room) into her room... it's much safer in the long run.  It's fun to move furniture! 

Oh, another thing I'm proud of... I cleaned our old fan.  I moved it into our bedroom last night (yes, during the night, 4am, as Bram decided he was hungry and I was sick of having 'hot flashes' due to exhaustion).  I'm not sure what is up with me, but when I am over tired, I get extremely hot at night.  So, I found the fan and put it in our room.  Thing is, it was filthy.  So, after dusting our room, I pulled the thing apart and cleaned it.  Now it's black again.

I feel like a tired ticking time bomb.  Bram has been waking up at 4am every night for the last week... after having been sleeping 10-11 hours at night previously.  I don't feel like he's eating properly during the day, and am exhausted with these wake ups at night, not to mention the fact that I myself am getting overheated during the night and that is keeping me up as well.  I napped today with the kiddos.  Couldn't handle it.  I'm seriously dizzy, eating all the time (I eat when I'm tired... which isn't good), and I feel bloated and blah.  Then I look at the things I want to do yet, and freak... and go take a nap.  Hahaha.  Hopefully we will have him sleeping through the night now that he is in a crib which means more space for him instead of the cradle which he was quickly outgrowing... I can't believe he's 3 months already (I guess I haven't posted his 3mo pics yet, neither!  Or any pics for a long time, actually!).

Anyway, yawn, it's time to hit the hay!  Have a great week!

Challenging?

A new week, a new challenge.  Well, ok, I don't really have much of a challenge for you, since I can't even manage to do my yard challenges lately.  I get started on them, but don't finish.  Oops.

Anyway, my challenge for the week is to work on/finish a major outdoor project (or in my case, plant grass seed on the levelled yard and start working on the firepit, since I know I won't finish it in the week.  I can work on it though, which gets me closer to finished, right?).

To Do
- weekly tasks
- dust entrance/hall/stairs
- weed main garden, water/fertilize, mow
- Find brick for firepit area
- get loose stone for front yard
- get wood chips for flower garden
- spray weeds by all the trees (man, there are a LOT)
- measure for front gardening bricks (need about 400 bricks)
- start work on fire pit
- seed grass

I didn't get the weeds sprayed last week... was told not to do it because I'm nursing, so my husband is supposed to do it.  So, that means I have to wait on him.  Sigh.  I like doing things myself because I know they'll get done when I want them to.  Ah well, I need to learn patience I guess.

Here's to finishing a major yard project that I've been waiting for 5 years to do!!!

Good luck to all of you on your yards!  :)

A Challenge

So, did you get your shower head sparkling last week?  Doesn't it feel so nice! 

This week I am in the bedrooms, so the challenge will go with that.  First of all, in the house, the challenge is to clean your mattress.  There are some tips here.  Mainly, what I plan on doing, is sprinkling the mattress with baking soda, rubbing it in a bit, and then vacuuming it off before flipping and turning my mattress and doing the other side. 

For the outdoor challenge, try to kill as many weeds as you can.  If you have a lot (like me) you may need to use weed killer.  Or, just pull as many as you find time to.  I think things look so much nicer when the weeds are gone!  I've got a lot of work ahead of me.  I did 2 hours of weeding last week, and I've got a lot to do this week.

Oh, speaking of outdoor work, I will finally be getting my yard levelled this week!  My husband called up the guy who said he had time this Saturday to do it.  So, we will order the dirt and away we go!  I can't wait for the yard to be nice and level (and safe... haha).  I'm now hoping to find some rock to put in the firepit area.  I want to dig down the firepit so it's an actual 'pit', and put flat stone all around it for chairs and benches.  I want the grass to be able to grow between the stones in such a way that I can take the mower right over it all and not worry about too much extra work.  I can dream...

My list
- regular weekly chores
- get the farm GST filed
- dust the bedrroms
- flip/clean mattress
- clean diaper pail
- fix remainder of pics to print for M's 1yr album
- print the pics
- yard work (weed, mow, water)
- level yard (wheeee!)
- Find brick for firepit area
- get loose stone for front yard
- get wood chips for flower garden
- spray weeds by all the trees (man, there are a LOT)

Good luck on your projects this week!

Oops

A little late for a weekly list, huh? Yeah, I forgot.

I figure I'll just post the challenge for the week

Our weather has been a bit erratic lately, so I have gotten NOTHING done on the yard besides basic weeding. Sigh. I have so much I still want to do this summer. We'll see if I finally get that large project started this month... I hope.

As for the indoor challenge, since we are in the bathrooms this week, I challenge you to scrub your showerhead.  I've already done mine, and it looks so nice and white now!  There was so much rust around the water holes that it was almost red in color!  Whew!  Even my husband noticed the difference!

Good luck this week (or what is left of it).  :)

A new week

Another week... I can hardly believe how fast the weekends fly by! Really! Especially the ones my husband has off.

This last weekend was nice. We went to the lake for an evening with friends... it didn't turn out quite like we'd hoped, but that is ok. We still had a wiener roast. Which I love. On Sunday we went to the city to get our rings warranty checked, and in the process I went to Michael's... I LOVE that store, and got a fondant smoother and some scrapbooking supplies. Got the scrapbooking stuffs on sale, and the smoother for 1/2 price due to a flyer coupon. Yippee for 50% off! I also got a new diaper bag! From Toys R Us. Regularly $50, marked down to $25 due to a few spots on it. I needed a new one, my old one had a busted strap held together by a safety pin that wasn't exactly safe anymore. Also got our son a pair of trunks (super cute) for $5 (half off again) from Toys R Us. For when he's 1 year. I love sale items!

Oh, and our son has a strange rash behind his ears. We've tried all sorts of things on it and it finally is going down (putting vitaminE oil on it is helping). Poor guy. His cradle cap is finally clearing up a bit as well. I don't remember it being this bad with M...

Anyway, my last week's list didn't go so well. I got the main stuffs done, but I couldn't do anything in the yard due to it being a swamp right now. Who knew that summer would equal me stuck in the house with the kiddos due to rain and mosquitoes? Sigh. Ah well. I also didn't get anything done on my costumes besides trying on the main dress and seeing that it is still too small. Got to lose a few inches before I'll fit into it again. Or, I get a different main dress for it. If I can find one. I can still do other bits on it if I can find the stuff I need. I made a list. That's the most I did. Can't really do much with this one until I can buy a few items. I may just decide not to bother dressing up, although it would be so much fun.

This week I have a new challenge. In keeping with the outdoor theme, my challenge is to start one large outdoor project. For me, that would be levelling the yard and fixing the fire pit (both kinda work together, after all). Inside, we are in the Kitchen zone. So, the challenge is a simple one... to clean the utensil drawer. That means taking out everything, wiping it down, and then washing the utensil organizer (or buy a new one, if you so choose... there are some really nice looking ones out there). Reorganize it (get rid of anything that just doesn't belong), and sit back and admire your clean drawer!

To Do (Kitchen/Office Week)
- weekly chores
- exercise daily
- appliances (sink, microwave, fridge, stove, toaster)
- utensil drawer
- drying rack
- quick wipe cabinets/counters
- dust both rooms
- mop all floors
- fix 10 scrapbook pages worth of pics for printing
- yard work (weed, trim, etc)
- level yard
- costumes?

I managed to do a lot today. Mondays I work the hardest. I like to keep the days later in the week open to more fun stuff. Why? Not sure.

Good luck this week! :)

Garfield says "I Hate Mondays"

I wonder... is this the only thing I'm going to be blogging about now? Kinda sad, really. I just really haven't taken the time to go on blogger much lately.

Oh, and for the record, I don't particularly hate Monday, I just really don't want to do ANYTHING lately on Mondays... or any day that ends in 'y'. I just do it all anyway. Nope... I'd rather spend every spare moment walking outside (if the weather is nice and the mosquitoes aren't wanting to throw dinner parties), or in front of the Wii playing my new Mario Galaxy 2! I LOVE that game! And M loves watching all the bright characters flashing across the screen.

Anyway, on to the 'list'. Oh, lists, how I love thee (and hate thee... since thou makest me think that I have lots to do instead of video gaming... eth).

The challenge for the week is a combo of indoor outdoor... to scrub the entrance inside and out. Yup... it's a doozy... sorta. At least for my fly poop ridden entrance. Grab a cloth (or sponge, or scrubber, or brush), some soapy water, and get rid of the gunk on the walls the doors (around the handle is prime real estate for dirt to collect), wash the window (I have one on my door... it needs a good scrub) and make that entrance door area shine. I also did the office window, since it's right by my entrance, and now it is so clear and free of grime that it makes me smile to look at it. Oh, and any light fixtures outside could probably use a quick wipe. ;)

Anyway, now I'll just post my to-do list for the week... for the sake of posting it. Yeah. That's it.

To Do (focus, entrance/dining/living/hall)
- weekly chores
- dust in focus area (fun fun...)
- gardening (weeding, watering... ok, maybe not with all the crazy rain we've been having)
- ??? weather permitting, level yard, fix fire pit, and/or chop trees
- scrub entrance interior
- scrub entrance exterior (door and area)
- clean office exterior window
- work on costumes
- pack away some toys (for my own sanity)
- plan last 6 months of M's scrapbook

This week is looking good. I'm going on a date with my hubby tomorrow! So excited! No kiddos, just us (later to be joined by friends). We're going to see Star Wars in concert! To be honest, it's not so much that it's Star Wars, but that it's music, it's a concert, it's a date, and no kiddos for a night! Eeee! I'll probably miss them both after just 10 minutes... ha ha.

Anyway, I'm off. I think I might have a relax soak tonight... to help me sleep and all. It's amazing how I've suddenly been bonding with my bathtub lately. I never used to soak... what on earth happened? I'm hoping Baby Bram will sleep for 6 hours tonight again like last night. A few nights like this and I might graduate him to the cradle in the next 'room'... which is really just an extension of our current bedroom, but a little farther away then the end of the bed. I'm looking forward to 11 hour nights like my daughter has! :)

Have a great week everyone!

Today is Tuesday

Boring title? Yeah... I agree. Ah well, my creative juices aren't flowing very well lately.

So, what is this post about? Actually, it's the challenge for the week! This week, the challenge outside is to rid the sidewalk/patio stones of weeds. Since the indoor zone for me this week is the bedrooms, my challenge is to go through the clothes. Something I decided to do with my clothes is to hang them all 'backwards' in the closet. At the end of a month (or two... depending when I get back to my normal size), whatever I have not yet worn will still be 'backwards', and will go to the local charity. I see no point in keeping things I won't wear. I already got rid of a few items that I know I won't wear again anyway.

As for last week, how did you do on your challenge? I was happy to get the van clean, it looked so nice (even though it only lasted a day or two). As for the decorating in the bathrooms, I love the bit I did. It wasn't much (I got new liquid soap containers, and trashed the downstairs bar soap holder which was hideous, and just cleaned the upstairs one, then put the soap on the bar soap holder upstairs, and downstairs I grabbed my new bamboo holder to put it on... so nice and clean looking).

To Do: Bedrooms: June 20-26
- regular weekly chores
- exercise (did Mon, Tues, Wed, Thurs, Fri (just a walk))
- dust bedrooms
- clean diaper pail
- flip mattress
- gardening (rid patio of weeds, do regular weeding)
- go through clothes (my own, find new place for Bram's stuff)
- level yard/ work on fire pit (weather permitting... which it doesn't seem to be doing right now)
- scrapbook
- work on costumes for July (hee hee)
- finish knitting purse
- finalize album pick pics, plan pages (did for months 1-6)
- print pics/announcements (just need to pickt them up)
- plan/invite to Bram's party (smile)
- cake (bake, decorate)

Yeah, I am finally going to do a party for Bram this weekend. So, I have to plan it. Which won't take much. It's gonna be very casual. The only real work I want to have to do with this one is making the cake. Otherwise, snacks are gonna be chopped veggies, popcorn, crackers... things like that. Easy... right? No games, nothing but 'drop in' for cake and to meet the little (or not so little, now that I look at him from his newborn pics) guy.

I haven't been keen on doing much more than the basics lately. Meals, regular cleaning, that sort of thing. I want out of the house, but the weather has been terrible, so that means going shopping, which means spending money, which I don't want to do too much of. My lawn is looking long... rain loves us this year (as do the mosquitoes... they are terrible), and getting out to do any yard work is near impossible lately. The second the sun is shining, I need to be out there, otherwise I will get nothing done. Really. We have one sunny day a week, then it's rain again. Sigh. At least I don't need to water the plants, right?

Anyway, good luck to you on your tasks for the week. I can hardly believe this month is wrapping up so soon. And I hardly did anything on my 101 tasks. I need to review those again very soon.

New Weekly Challenge

So, how'd you all do on your lists last week?  I finished mine... mainly.  The weather didn't permit me to do some of the yard work I wanted, but I DID work on the yard, technically, so that got checked off my list.  :)

Anyway, on to the challenge.

Your challenge, if you choose to accept it, is to clean your vehicle interior.  I figured this would be a good one, seeing as Father's day is just around the corner.  If you want, you can take it a step further and clean the exterior as well!  So get out your rags and your shop vac, and clean away!  (I tell you, I just did mine and WOW does it feel nice to know all that winter gunk is finally out of there).

My zone this week in the house is the bathrooms and laundry room.  The challenge in the house is to put something nice/decorative in the bathrooms.

To Do - June 13-19
- regular weekly chores
- exercise 5x a week (I'm upping this one... want to tone my tummy) (did M,T,W,)
- bathroom and laundry room dusting (including trim)
- scrub (and I mean SCRUB) the rust out of the sinks and tub
- clean in and out of toilets
- give the laundry room a good vacuuming
- stick toothbrush holder into dishwasher
- put something nice in the bathrooms
- scrapbook
- clean van interior
- gardening (weed, water regularly, some extra work?)
- choose pics for M's 12month album (done up to Apr09)
- print some of the aforementioned pics and birth announcements
- knit 30 rows
- order stampin up stuffs
- prep for weekend camping
- go to fair on Thursday

There it is... and a lengthy list it is!  Sheesh!  What ever happened to my having shorter lists?  At least some of these things are fun (like the last 4 items, haha).  I really hope to print my pics tomorrow when I'm in town anyway.  Then maybe I can take some of that stuff with me camping to scrapbook... wait... what am I thinking... scratch that entirely.  I'll be enjoying the outdoors... no papers blowing around!  And exercise?  That's a given!  Bike, you are getting your tires aired out (finally)!

Good Luck on your lists, everyone!

Weekly Challenge

I have decided to continue with the weekly challenges on my blog... because I like them!  Ha ha. 

The challenge for this week is to trim some bushes/trees, and in the kitchen to clean the major appliances. 

Basically, take a couple of the messiest trees or bushes (hedges if you have) and trim them up with the hedge clippers (if you have electric ones, lucky you.  If you have a man to do it, you are even luckier!).  My sister in law came down today and ripped out a few of the yucky trees in front of my bay window, and trimmed a few others.  I managed to trim one and put the black garden edger around an area I worked on in my yard last week (I'll have to post pics when it's done, I am SO happy) before my son decided he was hungry again.

As for appliances... I did the microwave, stove top, fridge, toaster, and the outsides of the dishwasher and oven.  Just go for those appliances you use the most.  Since it's Summer and all that, I think my focus is more on the good old outdoors rather than in the house right now.

To Do
- basic weekly chores
- exercise 3 days (did mon, wed, fri)
- appliances
- counters/cabinets
- dust in office and kitchen
- mop
- scrapbook (will I finally get around to doing this?)
- knit (this is MY 101 challenge for the month.  I really want to finish the ... scarf?  Or maybe I'll make it a purse?  Not sure yet, ha ha)
- make birth announcements
- gardening (front yard, trim trees/bushes, weed, etc)
- print preg album pics
- Baby Bram's one month photos (I can't believe he's 1 month old today!)
- prep for garage saling (and go have fun!)

I used my clothesline today!  It's so nice to be able to do that!  Sad thing is, I'm not sure I'll be able to use it tomorrow... due to weather predictions.  It's been so rainy.  I'm praying the rain doesn't come again until the guys are able to get the crop off the field... or else it won't be worth harvesting due to it flowering already.  Alfalfa should be at only 5% bloom... not 95%.  Once it gets too mature, the value for feeding the dairy cattle plummets.  I sure hope we can get it off tomorrow... that it's dry enough and that it doesn't rain... again.

That's all for now, folks! 

So how did you do last week?  Did you have fun getting out in the dirt?  Digging up some soil?  Cleaning your phones (I love that my phones and TV remotes are all nice and clean now)?  I'm hoping to make myself some 'harder' challenges in the near future... for my sake.  I feel like I accomplish something when I have things I can really SEE the difference in.  You know what I mean?

I still want to do a party for Baby Bram.  I'm just not sure how to go about it right now.  Perhaps next weekend?  Sigh.  I think I'll need to ask for some help.

Good luck to you all!