In my last post I mentioned how we are going to try to start doing a few chores each day instead of waiting until the weekend. We are a couple weeks in on my goal of doing a little bit of chores each day and my oh my, I love it! Again, I hope it sticks, but I am so excited I just had to blog about it. You see, there have been benefits I didn't even realize were going to happen in addition to the ones I was hoping for. So I thought I'd make a list of all the wonderful things that have happened because of this new change in our lives. Maybe on those days I'm tempted to skip chores I can look back and remind myself why doing a little each day is so much better than saving it for the weekends.
1. The kids no longer complain about having too much to do since it is just a little at a time.
2. In fact the kids no longer complain about doing chores at all because it is just part of our routine and they get an allowance. Making it part of our routine means I don't have to nag to get things done. It is just what we all do together at the same time each day.
3. Kids no longer watch TV after school. No time with chores to do. I always find their behavior is better without TV.
4. If everything gets done (homework, chores, bath, suppers) AND there is time left they can play. AND I no longer hear, "But there's nothing to do!" Playing now feels like an earned privilege.
5. We NEVER run out of clean clothes. In fact, I don't have to have as many clothes in my overstuffed closet since I do the laundry practically everyday. Because of this, I purged a lot of clothes and paired down to only the pieces I really like to wear. My closet breathed a sigh of relief and just seeing it not overstuffed makes me feel in control again.
6. There is no longer a MOUNTAIN of laundry taking the entire guest bed up for days.
7. The house stays more tidy than it used too. The girls seem to be more conscience of mess since they have to tend to it daily. They aren't entirely mess free, but there is some minor improvement starting to happen.
8. My bathrooms get cleaned more often then they used too.
9. I feel like the burden of caring for the home is more easily shared. Too often, I took the brundt of the work before because just getting it done myself was quicker than nagging the girls to get it done.
10. I am FREE on the weekends from household chores. I actually get a break and feel refreshed when I return to work.
11. When I come home from work I am in go mode. It seems easy to keep going and get things done. Trying to get motivated on Saturdays is so much harder.
12. My washer tends to get some stink problems when it hasn't run a couple of days (despite trying to clean it out). Now that it's run everyday except Sat and Sun, no more stinky problems.
13. Doing extra chores each day helps me stay active and get closer to reaching my step goals.
I could only come up with 2 negatives of doing chores daily:
1. Some days when I have to stay at work late it is impossible to get them done and I have to double up chores on other days to make up for it.
2. The house is never spic and span all at once like it is when it all gets done on one day.
Really there is way more perks to doing a little at a time. Hoping I keep my momentum and continue in this trend.
Wednesday, August 20, 2014
Monday, August 4, 2014
New Goals as we start
As the school year is set to start I've been thinking about ways to change our routine to make life run smoothly. One of my goals this year is to find a different church that fits us better. One our main issues with church is that it seems to take half a day of our precious weekend time. Add into that cleaning, grocery runs, laundry, etc. and there goes your weekend. I hate to say it, but it almost makes us resent having to go. We took an entire year off last year from church. I did bible stories, worship time, and prayer time with the girls on my own each Sunday and actually it was so lovely. We all learned so much, and enjoyed it so much.
But alas, it is time to get back into a community of believers and make some connections. We are hoping to find a smaller body of believers to join this time so we can make closer connections with folks (which we were unable to do at our last church after 4 years!) and also we are hoping that the services and children's programs are a little more traditional than our last church home.
So in order to make attending church feel less like an obligation and more like a welcome part of our day I have decided to change the way I clean my home. Instead of waiting until the weekends to do it all, I have made a schedule of things for the girls and I to accomplish each day, so that when the weekend comes around we are done. Saturday we can take it easy and do whatever we want whether it be relaxing or just having fun. This way attending church for half a day on Sundays won't seem so much like another thing to check off my list, so I can be done. I sure hope I can keep to my plan and I sure hope we find a church that we actually look forward to attending.
On a different note, I have also had a newfound determination/goal to pick up after myself immediately after I make a mess. I am the queen of "put the dishes in the sink and do it later." Jeff and I have been watching this show called "Tiny House Nation." This show has been my inspiration. It has fascinated us. Basically there is a wave of folks who are giving up the societal norm and redefining the American Dream. No longer are they striving to get the big house full of nice things. Instead they are building tiny homes 500 square feet or less. These homes on average cost around $30,000 (or less) and make a much smaller imprint on the environment. Because they are so cheap, they are able to live in these homes mortgage free. They are able to pay off all their bills. They are unable to spend their money on things which frees them up to spend their money on experiences, just living life, being active, and having fun. They are able to save too! They seem happier and more content. It really is amazing if you think about it.
Now before you think this kind of life is impossible you should really see this show! These houses are incredible. They are beautiful because they usually use very high end materials during construction. With such little space you can afford to do so. They are so cleverly built that they really are not doing without as you might think they do. Rooms and furniture are multifunctional. Many of the homes are mobile so you can take your home with you when you vacation. Some are almost self sufficient with solar panels for energy and composting toilets, etc. It really is fascinating to see how these homes are built. It is also fascinating to see how different each home is from the other and what some people prioritized in their tiny home over others. Most of the times when they show the finished product we have thought, "I could totally live in that!" I'm telling you, they are really neat! I'm not sure they would be great for a family with children, but for a single person or a couple it really is a neat idea!
When you think about living in such a small space you begin to realize how important it would be to always pick up after yourself. And because you have to pick up after yourself you really don't need as much stuff. If you wash that dish every time you use it, you wouldn't need extra dishes because you would always have a clean dish waiting to be used. If you did a load of laundry everyday, you wouldn't need a weeks worth of underwear. You get my drift. After watching this show, suddenly my too small kitchen, seems huge. My too small closet, seems gigantic. I realize that the things I thought were not good enough, really are more than sufficient. It's all perspective. I love the way this show makes me feel about my own situation and how much is inspires me. Heck, Jeff and I even pondered someday building a tiny house of our own, buying some beautiful plot of land somewhere to put it on, and making it our vacation home when we retire. Who knows?
Another goal I want to have is to always get in 4 miles of walking. Every year I desire to make physical activity a habit. I usually do pretty good for about a month and then I take a break because I'm so tired after I come home, and that break ends up being a permanent break. This time I'm going to go about it very differently. I did pretty good wearing a pedometer last year. There are many days I hit miles easily just doing my normal day to day routine at work. On those I'm exhausted and have absolutely no desire to work out at home. So this year I'm going to give myself a pass. If I meet my goal of 4 miles at work, I'm off the hook for working out and I'm not going to feel guilty about it. If I have not reached my 4 miles, I am on the treadmill when I get home to make up the difference. Technically speaking, if I haven't put in 4 miles at work, I should have enough energy left over when I get home to finish it up. I hope.
Well there you have it. New goals with how I want my life to run or the routine of our life for this coming school year. Time will tell whether I can make it a permanent change. More times than not, I go through phases and they always fizzle out. But, that doesn't mean I can't try.
But alas, it is time to get back into a community of believers and make some connections. We are hoping to find a smaller body of believers to join this time so we can make closer connections with folks (which we were unable to do at our last church after 4 years!) and also we are hoping that the services and children's programs are a little more traditional than our last church home.
So in order to make attending church feel less like an obligation and more like a welcome part of our day I have decided to change the way I clean my home. Instead of waiting until the weekends to do it all, I have made a schedule of things for the girls and I to accomplish each day, so that when the weekend comes around we are done. Saturday we can take it easy and do whatever we want whether it be relaxing or just having fun. This way attending church for half a day on Sundays won't seem so much like another thing to check off my list, so I can be done. I sure hope I can keep to my plan and I sure hope we find a church that we actually look forward to attending.
On a different note, I have also had a newfound determination/goal to pick up after myself immediately after I make a mess. I am the queen of "put the dishes in the sink and do it later." Jeff and I have been watching this show called "Tiny House Nation." This show has been my inspiration. It has fascinated us. Basically there is a wave of folks who are giving up the societal norm and redefining the American Dream. No longer are they striving to get the big house full of nice things. Instead they are building tiny homes 500 square feet or less. These homes on average cost around $30,000 (or less) and make a much smaller imprint on the environment. Because they are so cheap, they are able to live in these homes mortgage free. They are able to pay off all their bills. They are unable to spend their money on things which frees them up to spend their money on experiences, just living life, being active, and having fun. They are able to save too! They seem happier and more content. It really is amazing if you think about it.
Now before you think this kind of life is impossible you should really see this show! These houses are incredible. They are beautiful because they usually use very high end materials during construction. With such little space you can afford to do so. They are so cleverly built that they really are not doing without as you might think they do. Rooms and furniture are multifunctional. Many of the homes are mobile so you can take your home with you when you vacation. Some are almost self sufficient with solar panels for energy and composting toilets, etc. It really is fascinating to see how these homes are built. It is also fascinating to see how different each home is from the other and what some people prioritized in their tiny home over others. Most of the times when they show the finished product we have thought, "I could totally live in that!" I'm telling you, they are really neat! I'm not sure they would be great for a family with children, but for a single person or a couple it really is a neat idea!
When you think about living in such a small space you begin to realize how important it would be to always pick up after yourself. And because you have to pick up after yourself you really don't need as much stuff. If you wash that dish every time you use it, you wouldn't need extra dishes because you would always have a clean dish waiting to be used. If you did a load of laundry everyday, you wouldn't need a weeks worth of underwear. You get my drift. After watching this show, suddenly my too small kitchen, seems huge. My too small closet, seems gigantic. I realize that the things I thought were not good enough, really are more than sufficient. It's all perspective. I love the way this show makes me feel about my own situation and how much is inspires me. Heck, Jeff and I even pondered someday building a tiny house of our own, buying some beautiful plot of land somewhere to put it on, and making it our vacation home when we retire. Who knows?
Another goal I want to have is to always get in 4 miles of walking. Every year I desire to make physical activity a habit. I usually do pretty good for about a month and then I take a break because I'm so tired after I come home, and that break ends up being a permanent break. This time I'm going to go about it very differently. I did pretty good wearing a pedometer last year. There are many days I hit miles easily just doing my normal day to day routine at work. On those I'm exhausted and have absolutely no desire to work out at home. So this year I'm going to give myself a pass. If I meet my goal of 4 miles at work, I'm off the hook for working out and I'm not going to feel guilty about it. If I have not reached my 4 miles, I am on the treadmill when I get home to make up the difference. Technically speaking, if I haven't put in 4 miles at work, I should have enough energy left over when I get home to finish it up. I hope.
Well there you have it. New goals with how I want my life to run or the routine of our life for this coming school year. Time will tell whether I can make it a permanent change. More times than not, I go through phases and they always fizzle out. But, that doesn't mean I can't try.
Wednesday, July 30, 2014
Final Stretch
We are are now half way through our last two weeks of summer! Eeeek! Honestly, I was dreading going back to work until today. This has been the most amazing summer. I can only see summers getting even better each year as the kids get older and we can do more things. B started swimming this summer. She still can't swim with her head above water and can only swim with goggles, so I still need to keep a close eye on her, but she has made more progress than I ever could of imagined at this point.
We have really started taking advantage of the lake for these last few weeks (although this week it has actually been too cold to do so). I had been going to the pool more than the lake the first part of the summer thinking the lake would be too hard to teach B how to swim since she can only swim with goggles. I was wrong. Turns out, the lake is clear enough to use goggles and therefore, B can still swim even in the lake. It is more comfortable at the lake since there is plenty room. You don't feel like there is people on top of people. Plus, there's the added bonus of diving for shells. One of my all time favorite activities. We have a jar we are trying to fill up. Then, there's the fact that you can easily adjust the depth just by moving out. And each depth has a lot of area to swim. Lastly, you can take whatever toys, flotation devices, food, or drink you want. The pool has very strict regulations. Yep, the lake is the place for me! Next year, I am totally buying a season pass at the lake. It's only 30$ for the year for all of us. A bargain compared to the $120 I pay at the pool. I even have all he gear to make an entire day of it: a picnic basket, a shade tent, a picnic blanket, sand toys, lake toys, etc. The only downfall is it is a good 20-25 minute drive, but totally worth it!
I have been trying to squeeze in a bunch of appointments at the end so I don't have to take off work to do them later. So far we all have had dental appointments and eye appointments. Everyone checked out great! Still coming, one well visit, oil change/tire rotation, and hair cuts. Then, there's a little back to school shopping and we are ready!
I am so happy I decided to get ready for the first month of school at the end of the school year rather than the beginning. My lesson plans are ready to go. All I have to do when I return is make the manipulatives that go with my lessons and make seating charts. We are only getting 2 days before the kids show up, so it's a good thing. Most of that will be spent in meetings and training sessions. I learned from last year, there is little time to actually get ready for the kids walking through the door when teachers report back. Really seems like they should give us 4 days to get ready for the start of school. Two for meetings, and two for actually preparing for the kids to walk through the door. If my rooms weren't already ready, I'd be giving up a little summer to get that done now. Shout out to my wonderful janitors for allowing me to leave up my decorations over the summer. The beauty of being a music teacher who never has to switch rooms.
Today I looked up my lesson plans for the first month of school to refresh my memory and get my brain back in "school mode." I finally got those little flutters of excitement about going back to work. It is so much work and exhausting, but it is fun.
This Friday we go to see "One Republic" in KC. We will spend time with my sister. Us ladies are planning on kayaking at the lake while we are there. Our last hurrah of the summer, if you will.
So there you have it. Things are wrapping up, summer fun has been had, and we are almost good to go for another school year. About the only thing I can not get excited about is waking up at the butt crack of dawn, working late nights, and the mad rush to get things done each night before we have to do it all over again the next day. If only there were more hours in the day. Sigh!
Hope you all are gearing up for another school year. It is inevitable. Time to return to reality. ;)
We have really started taking advantage of the lake for these last few weeks (although this week it has actually been too cold to do so). I had been going to the pool more than the lake the first part of the summer thinking the lake would be too hard to teach B how to swim since she can only swim with goggles. I was wrong. Turns out, the lake is clear enough to use goggles and therefore, B can still swim even in the lake. It is more comfortable at the lake since there is plenty room. You don't feel like there is people on top of people. Plus, there's the added bonus of diving for shells. One of my all time favorite activities. We have a jar we are trying to fill up. Then, there's the fact that you can easily adjust the depth just by moving out. And each depth has a lot of area to swim. Lastly, you can take whatever toys, flotation devices, food, or drink you want. The pool has very strict regulations. Yep, the lake is the place for me! Next year, I am totally buying a season pass at the lake. It's only 30$ for the year for all of us. A bargain compared to the $120 I pay at the pool. I even have all he gear to make an entire day of it: a picnic basket, a shade tent, a picnic blanket, sand toys, lake toys, etc. The only downfall is it is a good 20-25 minute drive, but totally worth it!
I have been trying to squeeze in a bunch of appointments at the end so I don't have to take off work to do them later. So far we all have had dental appointments and eye appointments. Everyone checked out great! Still coming, one well visit, oil change/tire rotation, and hair cuts. Then, there's a little back to school shopping and we are ready!
I am so happy I decided to get ready for the first month of school at the end of the school year rather than the beginning. My lesson plans are ready to go. All I have to do when I return is make the manipulatives that go with my lessons and make seating charts. We are only getting 2 days before the kids show up, so it's a good thing. Most of that will be spent in meetings and training sessions. I learned from last year, there is little time to actually get ready for the kids walking through the door when teachers report back. Really seems like they should give us 4 days to get ready for the start of school. Two for meetings, and two for actually preparing for the kids to walk through the door. If my rooms weren't already ready, I'd be giving up a little summer to get that done now. Shout out to my wonderful janitors for allowing me to leave up my decorations over the summer. The beauty of being a music teacher who never has to switch rooms.
Today I looked up my lesson plans for the first month of school to refresh my memory and get my brain back in "school mode." I finally got those little flutters of excitement about going back to work. It is so much work and exhausting, but it is fun.
This Friday we go to see "One Republic" in KC. We will spend time with my sister. Us ladies are planning on kayaking at the lake while we are there. Our last hurrah of the summer, if you will.
So there you have it. Things are wrapping up, summer fun has been had, and we are almost good to go for another school year. About the only thing I can not get excited about is waking up at the butt crack of dawn, working late nights, and the mad rush to get things done each night before we have to do it all over again the next day. If only there were more hours in the day. Sigh!
Hope you all are gearing up for another school year. It is inevitable. Time to return to reality. ;)
Sunday, July 27, 2014
Summer Vaca 2014 Day 7 and 8
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| They had one of those game systems where you didn't need a remote. I think it's called Kinect. I think? |
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| Keenan and Jeff giving some sort of guitar game a try. You could actually hook real instruments up to the game. They seemed to enjoy it. |
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| Lots of cuteness oozing out of this picture here. Asher and Brennan getting their cowboy/cowgirl play on. |
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| The ducks were a nice surprise on our lake visit. Kadyn couldn't catch one. LOL. |
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| Only on my last attempt did I keep it up for any length of time. 20 seconds....maybe. |
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| I spent way more time with the sail down than up. |
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| Our friend Keenan is clearly way better at this and looks way cooler than I do sailing. LOL. |
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| The board was a clear hit with the kids. |
Summer Vacation 2014 Day 6
Schlitterbahn was the destination for Day 6. It is one of the biggest water parks in the nation. It literally has two different parks in different locations of the town. You have to hop on a bus to get to each. There is SOOOO much to do there is literally NO way to do it all. Part of that is also because the lines are pretty bad. Our shortest wait may have been around 45 minutes. Our longest line took 1.5 hours. I know it sounds horrible, but for some reason, it didn't bother me and it didn't feel like it took that long. Maybe it is because when you people watch, it just makes time pass a little quicker.
Having my folks there was SOOO helpful on this day. Two adults could be with one child. Since Bren and Kadyn are at different levels in their swimming abilities, we couldn't do everything together. Standing in those long lines and having another adult to converse with is just so much nicer and makes time go by quicker.
Most rides in this park require a inner tube. There were a ton of rides where you float down a lazy river with a couple rapid water challenges thrown in there. It really was perfect for little B. So to finish the day, we did one together as a family all 6 of us. The nice part is, these rides can take awhile to get through. One of them boasts that it takes 45 minutes from start to finish. That sure makes the wait seem worth it.
Next time I go to a water park, I will purchase water socks for everyone. We about burned our feet off a couple times. Word to the wise!
Unfortunately, you can't take a lot of pics at a water park. Phones aren't exactly something you carry around. I got one. Boo!
Having my folks there was SOOO helpful on this day. Two adults could be with one child. Since Bren and Kadyn are at different levels in their swimming abilities, we couldn't do everything together. Standing in those long lines and having another adult to converse with is just so much nicer and makes time go by quicker.
Most rides in this park require a inner tube. There were a ton of rides where you float down a lazy river with a couple rapid water challenges thrown in there. It really was perfect for little B. So to finish the day, we did one together as a family all 6 of us. The nice part is, these rides can take awhile to get through. One of them boasts that it takes 45 minutes from start to finish. That sure makes the wait seem worth it.
Next time I go to a water park, I will purchase water socks for everyone. We about burned our feet off a couple times. Word to the wise!
Unfortunately, you can't take a lot of pics at a water park. Phones aren't exactly something you carry around. I got one. Boo!
Summer Vacation 2014 Day 5
Day five was Sea World Day. To be honest, visiting this place is what birthed the idea of our trip. I have always wanted to take our kids to this place. I went as a kid and LOVED it. As an educated adult, I am a little sad that these majestic, huge creatures are held in captivity at all, BUT I almost feel like getting to get that close to a whale creates more appreciation for the species. What other place are my girls going to be able to see an Orca in real life? I do want to go to the ocean some day in whale watch. It's on my bucket list. But even then, there's no guarantee you will spot any. I admit, when you see them in person, it just takes your breath away. I teared up at both orca shows. I'm such a softie.
It was hot, but all the shows were shaded so it made it very bearable. The kids both are allowed one souvenir on every trip we take. This was one of the highlights of the trip for them. Brennan left with a stuffed Shamu and Kadyn left with a dolphin necklace and shamu earrings.
One of my favorite memories I will take from this day, was getting to feed the sea lions. For a price, you could buy a small plate of fish and feed them yourselves. The sea lions are big hams and very loud. They barked and pushed each other for the opportunity to get a fish from you. They were down low in a pool of water so you can't touch them, but if they see you have a fish, they will swim right over to you and start barking at you to drop it in their mouth.
Here are some highlights from our day:
It was hot, but all the shows were shaded so it made it very bearable. The kids both are allowed one souvenir on every trip we take. This was one of the highlights of the trip for them. Brennan left with a stuffed Shamu and Kadyn left with a dolphin necklace and shamu earrings.
One of my favorite memories I will take from this day, was getting to feed the sea lions. For a price, you could buy a small plate of fish and feed them yourselves. The sea lions are big hams and very loud. They barked and pushed each other for the opportunity to get a fish from you. They were down low in a pool of water so you can't touch them, but if they see you have a fish, they will swim right over to you and start barking at you to drop it in their mouth.
Here are some highlights from our day:
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| The sea lion show was hilarious! The walrus was the surprise at the end to solve a mystery of "who stole the fish?" |
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| B and her stuffed shamu |
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| K and her dolphin necklace |
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| The set of the sea lion show was pretty cool |
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| The beluga whales were my favorite. They looked like they absolutely were in love with their trainers. |
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The bond these animals have with their trainers is really incredible. After the show, they swam around the tank following their trainers everywhere as the trainers talked to people. It was neat to watch and when they splash you it was SOOOO cool! They are trained to take their tail fin and splash the audience on purpose.      |
Summer Vaca 2014 Day 4
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These carriages were all over town. They were beautiful all lit up at night. This isn't a great picture of them. Rats!
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| The riverwalk reminded me of an American Venice Canal. |
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| Because when you see a silly hat, you must put it on and take a picture! |
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| Ole! |
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| Dos Equis anyone? |
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| Davy Crockett! |
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| Taking a tour on the river boats of the river walk. Gorgeous!!! |
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| This little one was such a joy the whole trip. |
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| Stopped for some margaritas! Yum! |
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| Having my folks there made it so fun and memorable. Helps with the kids too! |
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| The old historic trees take my breath away. Pictures don't do them justice. Beautiful! |
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