52 Week Challenge

I wasn't going to post again until the new year, however, I came across a "52 Weeks to an Organized Home Challenge:2015" and I started to wonder... would anyone want to try to take this challenge with me? I'd like to try it but I don't want to do it alone.  I'd love for a group of us to try to do this together and share our experiences.  Any takers?  If so, comment on my Facebook post or comment below.

Christmas Break

I was going to try to get a few organizing projects done this month and then I decided why push it.  December is busy enough without me adding to it.  There are trips to see holiday lights, Christmas dinners, shopping trips, Christmas programs at church and at school, family gatherings, the start of a basketball camp for my daughter, etc.  So I will be taking a break from my blog until after Christmas.  I hope you all have a wonderful time with your families this month celebrating the birth of Jesus!  Merry Christmas!

Month End Update III

It's amazing how quickly you can go back to bad habits!

My girls went to bed tonight without us picking out there clothes for the week. We'll have to wake up early tomorrow to get that done so we aren't struggling all week.

A few weeks ago, I splurged and had a soda. Now two weeks later, I've had many sodas and my body can tell.  I also haven't been staying awake in the morning and exercising like I was a few weeks ago.

Why is it so easy to keep bad habits and so hard to maintain good habits!?! 

But the good news is that tomorrow is a new day.  A new day to try to be better than the last.  So tomorrow I will stay up and restart my workout routine. Tomorrow I stop drinking soda again. Tomorrow I start....

What will you start tomorrow?

You Don't Have To Try

I heard this song on the radio this morning and it reminded me of the video and I felt I needed to share it today.  It’s so easy to get caught up in doing things for the wrong reasons.  This video/song is a reminder that you just need to be yourself and not try so hard to please everyone else.  Love yourself for who you really are and others will too!  Be the real you; show your flaws; don’t be fake.   Now I’m not saying you should run to the bathroom right now and quickly remove your makeup, but just think about why you do the things you do.  Are you putting on that makeup because it makes you feel good or because you think that’s what you need for others to see you as beautiful?   Are you trying to lose that weight because you want to be a healthier version of you or is it because you think you need to be a certain size in order to fit in?  Are you truly being genuine or are you saying and doing things that you think you are supposed to?

This also makes me think of the bible verse I have framed and hanging in my girls bedroom. I hope they remember this verse always!

Basement Disaster I - COMPLETE

The laundry area is complete!  Before the clean up started, we had a large table sitting next to the washer and dryer. You'd think it would be great, someplace to fold things when they get out of the dryer.  It never worked that way.  I have always taken the clothes upstairs to fold them, so the table was just a place for stuff to gather. We decided to move the table to try to stop that from happening. I am not sure yet if it will get used in another area of the basement for a different purpose or if we will get rid of it all together.  It's an old table that came with the house when we bought it.

Instead of the table, I purchased a 5-tiered plastic storage shelf to use next to the dryer. Ideally I'd love to make a laundry basket shelf like the ones I've seen on Pinterest, but since the basement gets wet in spring, I didn't want to waste the money on materials for it and then it end up with water damage. That will have to be something for our next home where we actually have a laundry room without cinder block walls and a wet floor! The storage shelf was the best option for right now.  If, scratch that, WHEN we move, we will still be able to use the storage shelf either in the garage or a storage room so I didn't feel bad about spending the money on it.

I had purchased a couple of plastic bins when I was cleaning out some cabinets in the kitchen, but unfortunately they didn't fit the space. Instead of returning them, I kept them knowing they would be used somewhere.  Now they store my laundry soaps, dryer sheets, stain removers, and some cleaning supplies.  I put those bins along with our extra laundry baskets on the shelving unit.  Everything has a place and it is a relief knowing that a little bit of chaos has been eliminated in the basement.  I will just have to try not looking at the rest of the basement until I decide what area to work on next month.  But for now I can breathe a little easier while doing laundry!

Basement Disaster I

Our basement is a mess and that's a mild way of describing it!  It definitely has its issues.  It's crawling with spiders, it's cold, water comes in every spring, we aren't really able to use all of it as livable space so it has become a storage area.  An incredibly messy storage area.

We did get a ping pong table a few years ago thinking that maybe we'd use the space a little bit more but the table has just become another place to store stuff.  And since nobody goes in our basement, it just keeps getting worse and worse. It has become a dumping ground for anything and everything.  It drives me nuts yet I still ignore it.

It's time to bring some order to the chaos that is our basement!

Our basement is one large room but it has many different functions.  The basement is...
a laundry room,
a sewing/craft room,
a rec room (with ping pong table, couches and tv),
a pantry,
and a storage room for anything that doesn't have a home.

My goal going forward is to take on one area every month.  Hopefully, by being accountable to someone else, I can finally get the mess under control.  In November I am going to tackle the laundry area.  So tell me, how is your laundry area organized? What tips do you have to keep the area organized? What works for you? What doesn't work?

Now I may or may not have clothes sitting in the dryer still from a few days ago so I better get started!  Wish me luck and if you don't hear from me in awhile....send help!!  I could very easily get trapped under all of the mess down there!

Biggest Loser Results

Today was the last weigh in for the Biggest Loser challenge at work.  Eight weeks have gone by very quickly! The results: I won! I lost a total of 12 pounds in 8 weeks!  I am proud of myself for losing the weight!

It wasn't always easy but I did it without any fad diets or cutting things completely out of my diet (except for soda). I started exercising a little more regularly and made smarter choices about what I ate.  I have been eating more fruits and vegetables and drinking tons of water.  Instead of eating four pieces of pizza in one sitting, I cut it down to one piece and a side salad.  Instead of going back for seconds (or thirds) I was satisfied with one helping.  Instead of eating five rolls at Texas Roadhouse, I just took one (but put five in my to go box to ration at home)! I wanted to be able to lose the weight in a way that I could maintain.

The challenge may be done but I'm not where I want to be yet. I am hoping that the changes I have made will continue and that my motivation does not fade because the monetary motivation is gone. A friend of mine at work, who was also in the challenge and did great, wants to continue on as well. Hopefully we can encourage and motivate each other. And those of you reading this can also help keep me accountable. In my initial post I wrote, "You only hold yourself accountable for goals that others know about." So I'm telling everyone that I still want to continue on this weight loss path! My goal is to lose another 15lbs by the end of the year and then after that maintain. If I can do this, it would bring me back down to my weight before baby #1 and I haven't seen that number on the scale in over six years!

Buried Under a Pile of Housework

Have you ever had one of those weeks where you just can’t keep up with everything?  This week is mine!  It all started when I got sick.  Horrible sore throat where it hurt to swallow, runny nose, aches, headache and the list goes on and on.  When your body is fighting against sickness, you don’t feel like doing much of anything else.  So my nights have consisted of rest and not much else.  

The house is in bad shape!  Dishes need to be done, clothes need to be picked up, laundry needs to be done, the whole house needs to be cleaned and now disinfected! 

It’s so easy when the house gets to this point just to leave it that way.  Do these things ever cross your mind? There’s no way I’m ever going to catch up. Who cares what it looks like anyway.. I’ll wait to clean it until I know someone’s coming over.

It’s so easy to become lazy again.  But even the Bible tells us that laziness is a harder way to live.  

Proverbs 15:19 (ESV) "The way of a sluggard is like a hedge of thorns, but the path of the upright is a level highway."

The longer I leave it, the more it will pile up and the harder it will be to complete.  Maybe it would be easier to complete it I had a different attitude about the work.

A friend of mine sent me a link this past week to an article online.  The man being interviewed in the article works for a cleaning service.  I like what he said to the question of how does your work reflect some aspect of God’s work:

As an image-bearer of God, how does your work reflect some aspect of God’s work? I haven’t always intuitively classified my work as image-bearing, but as I’ve thought about it, I’ve seen that bringing order out of chaos reflects the image of God.  When I get to a job, it can be filthy everywhere. By the time I leave it, though, it’s clean. I make clean what is filthy.  We see God doing that all over the place in Scripture.  In creation, he creates order out of chaos by speaking creation into existence. As sinners, he takes the chaos of our lives and makes order through Christ.  At the end of a job, there’s a great deal of satisfaction knowing that God has used the work of my hands to make clean and new what was once dirty.

(taken from http://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/bringing-order-out-of-chaos-one-dirty-job-at-a-time)

Maybe if I thought about my own housework as being image-bearing work, I wouldn't be so reluctant to complete it!

Now that I finally have some energy back, I think tonight I'll try to catch up on my housework after the girls are in bed and keep in mind that in my own little way I am reflecting the image of God!

Thankful for Friendships

This past weekend I was able to spend time with some of my favorite people.

Saturday night I got together with three close girlfriends. We don't get to see each other often but I always look forward to our time together.  We catch up on our lives, we share our joys, our struggles and some unbelievably funny things that happen in our lives, right girls?!  The best part...we love and pray for each other.  

Then on Sunday afternoon we had small group at our house.  Over the years the 11 of us have shared our lives with each other.  We have grown by being open and honest with each other.  We share our faith, our parenting struggles and joys, our relationship trials and triumphs and so much more.  Sometimes we are dealing with some hard situations and what a blessing to know we can discuss those things with friends that love and support us.

Everyone needs strong, solid relationships, accountability in their lives, and encouragement in their walk with God. How fortunate am I that I have found all of these things in my group of friends!

I love all of these people and feel so blessed that each and every one of them is in my life. God has provided me with a great group of friends that I know not only love me but love God.

My Grocery List

Last month in my meal planning post (if you missed it click here), I mentioned that I carry around a folder that has my meal planning calendar, my grocery list, my to-do list and my calendar. I’m a little bit of a list freak!  I’ve already shared my meal planning calendar so today I thought I’d share my grocery list with everyone.

I know what you’re thinking… why share a grocery list?  Why do we need to see that?  Well, my grocery list is a little different than most.  I don’t just grab a blank piece of paper and write down the things I need.  I have more of a grocery list template.

As you can see from the picture, I have a list that’s pre-populated with items that I typically buy.  When I am doing my meal planning I just take my highlighter and highlight the items that I will need.  I take the list with me to the store and then check off the items as I go.  It saves me a little time to not have to write it out. It also helps to see all the things listed out because after looking at the grocery list I may remember something that I needed but didn’t think about it until I saw it on the list.

I used to do a lot of my grocery shopping at Wal-Mart over my lunch break.  I needed to get in and out of there quickly, so I set up the list in the order of the store.  I usually would head to the back of the store and work my way back up to the register and my grocery list followed that. 

I am now doing most of my grocery shopping at Aldi’s so I do need to update my grocery list to follow that stores layout.  Something I need to do soon as it’s a little frustrating going through the store with a grocery list that is out of order.

Out of curiosity, how do you handle your grocery list?  Do you write it out? Do you use an app?  Do you have a grocery list like mine?  What works for you?

Filling My Bucket

In the first chapter of the book I'm reading there was an action step to find things that fill your bucket.  I've been taking time to try to figure out what those things really are.  One thing I've stumbled upon is walking.  In the evenings, I've started walking after supper to get some extra exercise.  I start at our driveway, walk a little over a mile and then head back.  If you would have asked me before I started the walks if this would be something that filled my bucket, I would have definitely laughed! No way, exercise filling my bucket?! You've got to be crazy!

I don't think it's really the walking that is filling my bucket.  It's a combination of things.  First, the scenery!  I usually go on my walks around 6:00pm. Perfect timing for the sunset! 

Second, alone time.  My walk is a time for me to be by myself. No work, no kids, no husband, no responsibility except to walk.

Third, the music.  I love listening to music and my walks give me a chance to do that without interruption.  I've been using an old iPod that I haven't updated in a long time, so I've been reminiscing lately, listening to music from years past: Caedmons Call, Smalltown Poets, Nouveaux, Newsboys, Sonicflood, and some old Jars of Clay, dc talk, and Third Day. 

Alone time listening to my favorite music, enjoying God's creation....bucket filling for sure!

When you get depleted, it's tempting to start looking around for someone to pull you out. But let me state with crystal clarity: It's your responsibility to fill your bucket--not your boss's, not your board's, not your church's, not your staff's, not your spouse's. It's your own responsibility to keep your own bucket filled, to identify streams of replenishing energy that will take you from a depleted state to where your tank is filled to the brim and overflowing.   - Simplify by Bill Hybels

Have you been filling your tank lately? And if not, maybe it's time you sat down and figured out what replenishes you and make it a priority.

Before & After: Weekend Project 2 - Results

After: Storage Baskets

Again, I am amazed that something you think will take you forever to accomplish really doesn't take that long if you set aside time to specifically work on it. I started clearing our the baskets this morning with two little helpers and in no time we were done.

First, we completely cleaned out all the baskets.  We sorted everything into categories: Wii games/accessories, DVDs, coloring books/notebooks, crayons/markers/pencils, craft supplies, and puzzles.  From there we went through all of that and threw away all of the garbage and items we no longer needed/used.  Unbelievably, we ended up with a garbage bag full of trash!

A couple of weeks ago, when I was at Target, I was shopping in the dollar spot area.  I love to look there every time I go to Target because every once and awhile you can find some great deals.  For example, the black bins pictured below.  At the time I didn't know what exactly I would use them for but they were 2 for $1 and I knew I could use them somewhere around the house.  Today was the day they found their purpose.

Small bins from the dollar spot at Target.

I used a few bins in almost every basket.  The first basket was the Wii games.  The game cases fit in the containers perfectly.  Only problem was that we'd have to take them all out to find the right game.  I fixed that by writing the name of the games on the top edge of the cases.

The basket has a hole in the back so I was also able to store the remote charger right in the basket and still have it plugged in.

I was going to use the bins for our DVDs too but most of the cases are black so it would have been hard to write the name on the case so those were laid on their sides.  Most of the girls movies are kept in a CD holder so I stored that in the same basket.

The next thing I used the black bins for was organizing the crayons, markers, and pencils.  The girls love to color and draw and this basket had become uncontrollable.  We had a paint bucket full of crayons and decided to pair it down quite a bit.  We had enough crayons for about 20 kids.

The girls always seem to be arguing about notebooks and coloring books.  Instead of sharing everything they are always getting mad at each other for using "my notebook" or "my coloring book."  So to eliminate that fight, we divided up the notebooks and coloring books and each girl agreed on which ones they wanted to keep.  Each girl got their own basket.  I also made a folder for each girl.  I noticed that before if they colored something and wanted to keep it, it either ended up on my fridge or they just shoved it back into one of the baskets.  So hopefully they will use the folders now to store their artwork.  I'm sure a few will still end up on the fridge but at least now it won't be completely covered!

One of the baskets was full, and I mean FULL of puzzles.  We determined that we didn't need that many puzzles and got it down to a more manageable number.  To save space we got rid of most of the puzzle boxes a long time ago.  They are stored in ziplock bags along with a picture of what the puzzle is supposed to look like.  After we organized this basket we ended up with a bag of about 20 puzzles that will be making their way to the thrift store.

The last basket that I used a black bin in was the craft basket and after a quick trip to the store we got some new boxes to store the beads the girls use to make necklaces and the rubber bands to make bracelets.

In addition to finding out this project didn't take as long as I thought it would, I also realized that the girls love to help me clean up and organize.  They like to help out in the decision making process.  I think a lot of times I just tend to do things myself, when I should be involving them.  It is good for them and good for me to have the help.  This way they can also feel pride in keeping it clean and organized since they helped get it that way in the first place.

So, did you have a project this weekend?  Cleaning a closet, doing some baking, making freezer meals, or just conquering the laundry?  I'd love to hear from all of you.

Before & After: Weekend Project 2

Before: Storage Baskets

Quite a few years ago I got an Ikea bookcase to use as a tv stand in our living room.  It first started out with just baskets on the bottom shelves with open storage on the top. Soon after I decided that looked too messy and disorganized as we were mainly using it for toy storage and broke down and got baskets for the remaining shelves.

The baskets help keep the living room clean, however the mess has just moved into the baskets.  At one point they were organized but as time has gone on they have gotten so filled with junk that sometimes it's difficult to even close them. I haven't been as disciplined as I should have been with making sure they stayed organized.

My project for this long weekend...the baskets! And my goal is the same as my last weekend project...quit just dealing with the clutter and mess and reorganize it into something that will work for the space and for the family.   

What will you work on this weekend?

Have you ever had a morning like this?

My daughter's birthday party this weekend must have thrown us all off. Because...

1. We forgot to set out clothes for the week last night. Luckily, there were no arguments about clothes but it was a little hectic.
2. We forgot to finish some homework this weekend. So reading was done this morning, which meant...
3. Breakfast was consumed in the car this morning on the way to the bus stop.

What a not-so-great way to start the week!

I'm sure you can figure out what is on our to-do list tonight?!

Month End Update

I started this blog with the intention of being accountable to someone other than myself. When I think of having an accountability partner I think about them checking in to see how I am doing. So every last day of the month I am going to try to update everyone on all my previous posts.

1. Morning Routine-Step One: Setting out clothes for the week.  This has been going great! Every Sunday evening my daughters get excited to go pick out their clothes for the week. If I don't remember, they do! This has definitely helped out with our morning routine by decreasing the time it takes to get ready and eliminating disagreements.

2. Biggest Loser Challenge: Slow and steady, slow and steady. I am working my way towards a healthier me.  I have eliminated soda and junk foods, decreased my portion sizes, and am making healthier choices.  I definitely crave some junk foods and potlucks are difficult but I am definitely making better choices when it comes to what I put in my body.  Tomorrow we have our week three weigh in and my percentage of weight loss is 3.34%. Slow and steady.

3. What's for Dinner: Meal planning continues to make dinner time easier for me.  Of course there are days when plans change but it's easy to just adjust.

4. Morning Routine-Step Two: Exercise: This one has been a struggle for me. I'd love to be able to tell you that I've worked out every morning, but I can't.  The first few days I struggled finding something that I enjoyed (as much as you can enjoy exercise). And there has been the occasional morning where watching the news or laying back down has happened. But I knew this was going to be a challenge for me.  I am working out at least 3-4 days a week so it is progress from the nothing I did before. However, I would like to get that up to five days a week.  That is my goal for next month.

5. Pots & Pans: The reorganization has been a success so far! All the pots and pans look the same as they did in the after pictures, and yes, I have used them since then! It's still fairly new but I am hoping this continues.  

6. Simplify: I finished the first chapter of the book and what I like about it is that it has you pause and take action steps. The first chapter was called "from exhausted to energized."  One of the action steps is to craft a custom replenishment plan, activities that will fill my bucket. That's hard sometimes.  My mind is always thinking of what can I do for my kids or my husband, it's hard to think about doing things for yourself.

Now that I've updated you is there anything that I can help you be accountable for?

Simplify.

Last week while I was online I found Andy Stanley quoting a line from a book by Bill Hybels that caught my attention.

"Simplified living requires more than just organizing your closets or cleaning out your desk drawers. It requires uncluttering your soul."

I started researching the book and the more I kept reading about the book the more excited I got.  As I am trying to unclutter and simplify my own life physically, how fitting that I would run into something that could help me spiritually as well.

Two days after I saw that first quote, the book was delivered to my doorstep.  The book is "Simplify. Ten practices to unclutter your soul." By Bill Hybels. I am not even finished with the first chapter and I think my highlighter may be running out of ink!

Let me share a paragraph with you:

"Simplified living is about more than doing less.  It's being who God called us to be, with a wholehearted, single-minded focus. It's walking away from innumerable lesser opportunities in favor of the few to which we've been called and for which we've been created.  It's a lifestyle that allows us, when our heads hit the pillow at night, to reflect with gratitude that our day was well invested and the varied responsibilities of our lives are in order."

Sounds great, doesn't it?

Here is a link to more information about the book if you are interesting in reading it yourself.  www.simplifybook.com

Before & After: Weekend Project - Results

After: Pots & Pans

So the project that I thought could possibly take me all weekend, ended up only taking me a few hours.  It's crazy how you tend to put off projects because you dread the amount of work and time it will take to complete it and then in reality it doesn't take that long at all.

I decided to switch the contents of the hutch with the cabinet.  The cabinet was just too narrow for the pots and pans.  I recently saw an idea on Pinterest and decided to try it.

Spring Rods

I adjusted the shelf and used four spring rods to divide the space.  On the top shelf I stored my pizza pans, cookie sheets, jelly roll pans, and all my cutting boards.   Underneath I stored all of my cake pans.  Since we don't use those as often I am hoping that we will be able to put them back in the space nicely.  Hopefully it won't end up looking like the pots did before.

The filled cabinet

The pots and fry pans ended up fitting in the hutch almost perfectly.  I don't know why I didn't figure this out earlier!  I used the drawer below to store less used items like the roasters, casserole dishes and pie plate.  They barely fit in the drawer but I'm thinking that could work to my advantage.  If there is only one way for them to fit, I will have to put things away where they belong!

The filled hutch

So if you're putting something off because you think it may be too much work or may take too much time, I challenge you to set aside a little time to try to get it done.  You may just be surprised.

Before & After: Weekend Project

Before: Pots and Pans

The home we live in is definitely not our forever home.  I look forward to someday having a house that has more than three closets, more than one bathroom, and enough room that there is a place for everything.  Until then, I just have to be creative with our storage.  One thing that has been getting on my nerves lately is the cluttered and disorganized space for our pots and pans.  I can’t believe I’m going to share this with everyone, but I did promise to be transparent, so here it goes.  Below are pictures of how all our pots and pans are currently stored.

This cabinet is way too narrow and we end up having to tilt pans to even get them in the door.

This is the hutch in our kitchen.  I think I may have too many pans and bowls.

Because the hutch is usually packed, most pans get stored in the oven.

Every once and awhile, I will stack the pots and pans nicely into the cabinets, but after pulling out a pan here and there, it always ends up turning into a jumbled mess again.  I need to figure out something that works better permanently.  

So this is my weekend project. Tomorrow I quit just dealing with the clutter and mess and reorganize it into something that will work for the space and for the family.   

Do you have a project you just haven't gotten around to or you've been avoiding?

My Morning Routine: Step Two

With this Biggest Loser Challenge in full swing, I have already made adjustments to my eating habits but now I need to start making time for exercise.  Knowing that I want to have family time when I get home from work and I usually have a list of things that I should accomplish once the girls are in bed, exercise is not something I want to try to do in the evening.  So that means it needs to be added to my morning routine.

Remember how I said, I get up with my hubby and make him lunch and quickly return to bed to sleep some more before my alarm goes off?  Well, that’s going to have to be a thing of the past.  It’s not like I get great sleep during that time anyway, so I might as well just stay up.  That’s what the logical side of my brain is saying, the rest of me is saying, “Nooooooooooo!”  

So starting today I will be attempting to stay up and exercise. 5:00 am workout here I come. Who's with me? Anyone?  

What's for dinner?

Meal planning is something that I have been trying to do for a long time now.  I started out trying to use a whiteboard, then I tried a laminated calendar that I posted on my fridge, then I moved on to trying an app on my iPad to do my meal planing but I ended up forgetting about them all too easily.  I personally needed to have that piece of paper in front of me, that I could carry around with me* and refer to.

So I created my own meal planning calendar. I fill in the dates then write in my meals with a pencil so if something changes I can easily erase it. Sometimes I will fill out the calendar at the beginning of the week, but I typically fill it out right before I need to go grocery shopping.  I'll sit down and think about what is already in the house and what I would need from the store to make a complete meal and then fill in each day with a meal.  I know of people who have planned out entire months at a time but I've found that it works best for me to plan out 10-14 days at a time.

My planning calendar

Granted there are days that I don't follow my plan or I forget to plan for a few days. For example, Thursday was supposed to be Beef & Rice, but the hubby needed to help out a friend that night so the girls and I ended up having Silly Supper (which is my fun way of saying we're having cereal) instead.  So I just adjust the calendar and move things around.  The planning has definitely helped me save time and money. When you have meals planned out you're less likely to get home, look at your cupboards and just decide, "maybe we should go out for dinner?"

Do you plan out your meals? 

If you don't, I challenge you to try it. Even just start by planning out the next couple of days.  I think you will feel more of a relief when it comes to meal time.  So what are you having for dinner?

* I have a folder that goes with me daily.  It includes my meal plan calendar, my grocery list, my to do list, and now my blogging calendar.  All of which I'm sure will make an appearance sometime on the blog.  If you don't know this about me already, you will soon find out that I love making lists, checklists, calendars, etc. I'm sure a few people would agree that I can go a little overboard with my lists.

A Big Loser

Today is the first day of an eight-week Biggest Loser Challenge at work.  Being this was the first day, it was the dreaded initial weigh-in day. I have been avoiding the scale the last couple months, even putting the laundry basket on top of it so I could avoid finding out what that number had become.  But today it was unavoidable. 

As I stepped on the scale this morning an overwhelming feeling of disappointment came over me. Those numbers couldn't be right, could they? There must be something wrong with the scale, right? The numbers were definitely not what I wanted to see even though I knew they were right.  Those numbers reminded me how out of shape I am, how uncomfortable I am, and how lazy I've become.

Now I know deep down in my heart that the numbers shouldn't define me. I should be remembering that my body weight is not a reflection of who I am.  But that’s hard sometimes, right?

I am hoping that by sharing this and starting this challenge, it will give me the motivation that I need to do something about the way I feel.  (You only hold yourself accountable for goals that others know about.) My goal for the eight weeks, yes, is to lose weight, but it is mainly to become healthier both in body and mind.  I want to take care of my body; I want to be able to play with the girls and not be winded; I want to not be so tired; and I also want to be able step on the scale and no matter what it says know fully that it is not any indication of my worth.

The hard part... can I remember that the next time I step on the scale?

Our Morning Routine: Step One

For the past few months this has been my morning routine...

Wake up with the hubby and make his lunch for the day. Quickly crawl back into bed to get a little more sleep before my alarm goes off.  Hit snooze way too many times and then run to get myself ready before I have to wake up the girls.  Get the girls up with just enough time to get dressed, get their teeth brushed and brush their hair (well sometimes brush their hair) and get out the door by 7:00 am.  All the while hoping that I haven't forgotten something important!

With school starting again, I've decided the morning routine needs to improve, a lot!  But I also know that if I try to change it drastically all at once, it will only last a couple days and I'll be right back where I started, running around frantic trying not to be late. So we will take baby steps.

Step One: The Clothing Battle

One thing that has been a battle in the morning is picking out clothes.  The girls will pick out something that just doesn't work with the weather or doesn't fit and I will have to veto it.  Chaos errupts!  Crying, pouting, stomping and a battle to put on different clothes begins.  And when you are already rushed it makes it hard for me not to have a mommy moment and lose my patience with the girls. That is never the way I want to start out the day with my girls.

So this month we have started to pick out our clothes for the entire week on Sunday evening.  This way the girls and I can both feel good about the clothing choices and we eliminate one battle in the morning.  I searched online for some Day of the Week Tags that I liked, printed them out and laminated them. Then once the clothes are picked out we hang the tag with the clothes. These handy tags also double as a little reading exercise for my daughter in the morning.  I'll tell her what day it is and she has to go find her clothes.  2 birds, 1 stone.

Now for the part that I will struggle with...continuing to do this every week.  Whenever I try something new, even if it works great, I struggle with keeping it up.  If I'm truly honest with myself, it comes from laziness. Oh, I'll do it later or I'll get to it tomorrow and it gets forgotten.  So, if you happen to see me on a Sunday afternoon or evening feel free to ask me if I have the girls clothes picked out.  And hopefully the answer will be "yes". 

My Starting Point...

In the past, I have started things and have had success for awhile but then my motivation fades.  I have found that the only thing that truly works for me is accountability.  If others know what I am trying to do I am more likely to succeed at it.

"You only hold yourself accountable for goals that others know about.  Tell someone what you're up to."

So in an effort to get my life, home and family organized I am starting this blog so I become accountable to someone other than myself.   Here you'll see the real me. I am hoping to be transparent with everyone and show my successes as well as my struggles and my failures. But who better to share those things with than with friends who can relate and encourage you!  So here's to finding some order amid the chaos that we all have in our lives.