It Coming........Spring!!!

I know I have said it before, but it feels more real each and every day. The last few days I have started waking up to birds chirping.Then last evening as I was making dinner, the birds were chirping again. I love that sounds. Not when they are the annoying, wont leave you alone chirping, but the excited the day is starting and it feels so good out here chirps.

I have to apologize a little for having such a gap in my posting. We have had a lot of things going on at home lately, and I was questioning if a blog was really something I wanted to take on. After a lot of thought and prayer I decided that it was. I have known for a while I have wanted to blog about everything I have running through my head from home-life to balancing work & home. This blog may help some, it may not. This is more my place to share my ideas and thoughts on life & motherhood/wifehood (is that even a title?) with anyone that is interested.

I have also posted that I LOVE spring cleaning. Everything just feels so new & clean and fresh. Hope on over to Renew Your Space for some amazing tips on spring cleaning. This is a site I visit regularly and they are amazing at offering ideas for keeping you home clean and tidy.

Some things she shared that we all should be doing for spring cleaningare:

• Find a couple of large boxes & label them: “Donate” and “Repair” – As you’re going through your house, toss things in right on the spot.
• Empty your closet of winter clothes and store them away for Fall – Anything that doesn’t fit properly or is in disrepair, toss into those boxes.
• Flip and disinfect your mattresses with Lysol spray to kill all of those winter germs.
• Launder your pillows every 3 months (read your tags), or if not recommended, spot clean with sudsy warm water & baking soda then air dry.
• Replace your old shower liners, or give them a good scrubbing with a solution of 10 parts water & 1 part chlorine bleach with a plastic-bristled brush.
• Consider renting a carpet cleaner to hit those ugly stains on the stairs and entryways - These are very reasonable to rent & you will be amazed by how new your carpet will look when it’s clean.
• Get your family into the habit of closing the toilet lids when flushing – Did you know when toilets are flushed, moisture and bacteria are released into the air? By closing the lid, you will reduce household mold and mildew from developing in the bathroom.
• Disinfect your dishwasher by using baking soda or white vinegar – Measure out one cup, and throw into the bottom of your dishwasher. Run a short cycle on hot and notice the difference in the smell.
• Run white vinegar through your coffee maker or French press – let it sit and steam for a while and the stains should lift right off. For stubborn stains, scrub gently with baking soda & pour a little vinegar over it – this will create an impressive bubbling foam.
• Clean up grout with a little Spray N’ Wash – It’s not a cure all, but great for a quick fix.
• Sprinkle baby powder on a mildewy floor overnight – Sweep it up and mop over the next day.
• Designate a Cleaning Closet – Consolidate all of those bottles and take back your space.
• Convert from using furniture polish and change over to a feather duster – You will save time, money & the environment.
• Use socks which have lost their mates to polish furniture or to wash the car.
• Buy a wax furniture crayon in a few popular colors to fill in any chipped paint or scuffs on wood.
• Rub out marks from your leather furniture with a pencil eraser.
• Test your smoke alarms & replace the batteries.
• Buy new filters for your air conditioner
• Check the glove compartment of your car to make sure your insurance & registration are up to date.
• To avoid stress, create a file specifically for next year’s taxes – Label it’2010 Taxes’ and throw any receipts or documents in there throughout the year.
• Defragment & back up your computers.
• Remember that summer is coming - Clean & repair your patio furniture / locate all summer sports and swimming equipment.

 I know there are some things on this list that I hadn't even thought about, or knew you could do!

Hope you are all enjoying this time getting ready for spring & then the most wonderful time....summer!!

How fast they grow......

Last night was a wake up call just how fast my 2 boys are growing. I can see it in lots of little things they do but last night they were trying to play together, but it just wasn't working out. Big B is VERY much into motocross and BMX. Little B has taken a HUGE interest in baseball and everything associated with it. Like I said in an earlier post, his FAVORITE movie right now The Sandlot. Well last night Big B was riding his "motocycle" (a pillow from our couch he rides around) and doing jumps and flip. Little B wanted to play baseball with his plastic bat and foam ball. It didn't go over so well with Little Man that his older brother didn't want to play baseball with him.

To me this was the first flashing sign that my kids are off and into their own different interests. They are not gonna stay little forever and will soon have totally separate interests, friends, lives, etc. They will always love and cherish each other, and I do with my siblings, but they are growing into their own little lives slowly but surely. Think I am gonna spend tonight snuggling them and cherishing the moment in the young lives.

March 1st is here

We are all so close to spring. Today is the 1st day of March and I have to admit I love this month. This is the month that I can actually say winter is coming to an end and spring is knocking on our doorsteps. I also love St. Patrick's Day as well. My kids love the holiday and talk about "Leprechaun Day" all year long. I will be sharing St. Patrick's Day ideas in the days to come. One of my favorite things on St. Patrick's Day is when the Leprechauns come to our house at night why we are sleeping and play tricks on us. Every year they have turned our milk green, left green streamers in the boy's room, and much more.

I also wanted to share a picture from last weekend. Usually we spend every night sitting at the table together eating dinner. Saturday night I thought it would be fun to have a "picnic" in our living room. We had hot dogs, pasta, salad and sushi. Yum Yum! It is such a fun and simple thing to do as a family.Get a big blanket that you don't care whether or not it gets food dropped on it. Grab your plates, put on a movie (our's was "The Sandlot". It's one of Little B's FAVORITE movies right now) and enjoy a fun and different way to eat dinner.

Here is a peak at my disaster of a bathroom closet. I actually accomplished a lot last night, and getting this mostly cleaned and organized was one of them. I will try and take a picture tomorrow to post. There still seems to be a LOT of stuff still in it, even though I swear I tossed a bag full of stuff as well, but not it looks more organized and that's all that matters.

What is an area that you need to get cleaned? I challenge you to tackle just 1 area this week. It could be anywhere from a junk drawer to the top of the fridge to a closet in your house. Good luck! By the end of this year we can all be organized!

It's coming!

I can feel it. SPRING is coming, and soon I hope. Our house is ready and waiting for spring & summer to get here. I also cant wait to get some spring cleaning done. Call me crazy but I LOVE to clean! I love spending all day vacuuming, dusting, washing windows (which I'm sorry to say I have NO desire to do in the winter), laundry and everything else. Now I know I could have been cleaning all winter too, but come on....nothing says "spring cleaning" like opening up your windows while you do some deep cleaning and letting the fresh air in. The sun streaming through the open windows!

Today I bought a few plastic containers so I can tackle one very daunting area of my house......my bathroom closet. Stay tuned for some before & after pictures. They will be scary...I promise!

I have told my husband all winter long I want to start in each room of the house. Take EVERYTHING out of it, repaint it, and put everything back in it in an organized fashion. If I had a whole week to myself (without my kids and work and all the other activities that come with it) I would take every single thing out of my house and put it in my garage, then working 1 room at a time repaint it, do any needed repairs (some rooms need new baseboards and such) and then put stuff back in that specific room. Then everything left in the garage that doesn't have a home, or doesn't fit in my neatly (will be once this is done) organized storage areas in matching totes (yes they need to be matching because I get annoyed with mismatched totes in my house...crazy again...I know) will be sold or donated. I can't say I am going to go to that extent with everything, but my goal this summer is to de-clutter, de-clutter and de-clutter some more. Completing this task should help my get rid of (sell and donate) a whole bunch of stuff, as well as give me space to organize and redecorate each space in my house.

Is anyone else itching for some spring cleaning or am I just weird?

Heaven is for Real

I just have to share with you all this touching book I am reading. Yes, it is a little religious, but I don't think it matters what religion you are......you will be touched by this book. There has been quite a few times I have been close to tears while I have been reading.

This book is actually pretty short, and an easy read. I would recommend this book many times over. I picked it up last night about the time I was getting ready to go to bed, and I haven't been able to put it down. In less than 24 hours I am almost done with it.

I hope you all get a chance to get this book and read it as well. If you do, let me know what you think.

I also signed up today to donate blood through the American Red Cross in March. If you are able to do this (not everyone is able due to some blood typing or medical reasons), and are willing, I encourage each and everyone to donate blood. Your blood can go to help save people in need. To me it seems like such a small and simple way to give to others. Not everyone is in a position to give financially, so why not give a part of yourself? Give blood! (For more information click HERE)

Sunday....beautiful Sunday

Today....snow! I just have to say I LOVE the snow. One of the many many reason I love Utah. Watching the snow fall and covering everything in a beautiful layer of white just make me happy. Though I do have to say I am SO ready for summer. I am BEYOND ready for camping, BBQ, riding our bikes, planting and getting fresh veggies out of my garden and suntans!

I love Sundays. To me Sunday are a day to spend time as a family, relax & rest up for the coming week. It is also a day to spend time at church and focus on our Heavenly Father. The church I go to every Sunday is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS or Mormon). For more information you can click here.

I hope you all were able to spend the day relaxing with your family and enjoying some quite time before the hectic schedules of the week start again tomorrow.

More happenings in our household

So this past week I was offered a position as PTA Secretary. I am quite happy and excited about it, and I am more than willing to help out in any way I can. I will say it was a pretty fast offer into the position, considering my oldest is currently a Kindergartner. I haven't even gotten a handle on everything with his school yet. That is ok though. It is a challenge I am more than willing to take on and do.

I get asked all the time......how do you keep so organized. Lists, Lists, Lists and Calendars, Calendars, Calendars!!! I am an avid "To Do" list maker. I even keep a  pad of paper & pen in my nightstand so if I have ideas of things I need to do/want to get done/don't want to remember, I can write them down. No matter what time of night.

Call me old fashioned but I still carry the paper Daytimer. I had a palm pilot (and I still have it) but it is so much easier for me to just write things down. I carry my Daytimer with me 24/7. Whenever something new comes up I always consult it to make sure I don't have conflicting schedules, as well as note new activities that come up as well. Then when I get home I transfer those items to what I think of as our "central scheduling location" .......... our kitchen! On the inside of our pantry door hangs our monthly calendar so I can write down all the future items (birthdays, anniversaries, reoccurring items, etc.). Hanging on the outside of the pantry door is our week-at-a-glance calendar. Every Sunday night I sit down and transfer things from our monthly calendar to our weekly calendar.

Doing this also helps my dear husband to see at a glance what is happening that week, as it saves him the step of looking at the other calendar just so it is easier to see while you are hanging out in the kitchen.

I would love to hear your ways to keep your schedule organized!

Valentine's Day

Hope everyone had a fun and exciting Valentine's Day. This year I tried to make Valentine's Day last for almost 2 whole weeks. Instead of the "12 Days of Christmas", I did a "12 Days of Romance" for my wonderful hubby. It was a whole lot of fun, and challenging sometimes as well. It took some help from others but here is what I did:

1 - 1 red heart shaped balloon that said "I Love You"
2 - A gift card to the movie theatre for 2 tickets
3 - 3 bottles of Chris' lotion
4 - A 4 pack of Monster energy drinks
5 - A bottle of 5 hour energy
6 - The song I walked down the isle to was Tim McGraw's "It's Your Love". It was song #6 on his gratest hits CD. I had the song in his radio with a note telling him to put on song #6. Then after he listened to the song he could get the CD case from under his seat.
7 - 7 things of chocolate
8 - A heart shaped contained with 8 Ferrero Rocher balls (YUM YUM)
9 - 9 heart shaped tree car air freshners
10 - A box with 10 heart shaped chocolate cakes
11 - 11 hearts each with a reason why I love my wonderful husband
12 - Valentines Day! This started out with a scavenger hunt throughout the house. The last clue sent us over to my mother-in-law & step father-in-laws house. There I had a dozen roses & a Millsap (Utah Jazz player) shirt. There was a total of 12 heart shaped clues to the scavenger hunt & the dozen roses were both for day 12.

We made a nice dinner of cheese fondue & steaks. It was delish!

Chris & the boys got me a handheld cordless dirt devil vacuum (for those quick pick ups in the van), a very cute rug for the front door & knee pads for volleyball. Love my gifts! The boys got candy and a few gifts.
Overall it was a wonderful day. I could have been a little more organized with the dinner planning and gifts for the boys.....but next year I will do better. I also think next year we will ask for either "cupid" or the "Love Bugs" to come to the house :)

HOW am I going to do these things

It has taken me a little while to get back on so I apologize. Last time I told you about all the goals I have created for this year. Now I am going to explain HOW I am doing it.

First off, I made my resolutions. Once I got my goals in writing it felt like they were more official. Not something that I just had in my head swirling around where I could forget them all.

The next step for me was printing them all out. I have a copy (printed on nice cute paper) hanging right next to my bed  so I can look at it every time I am in my bedroom. I also carry a copy of my list around in my day planner. That way I look at it each time I need to schedule something. Having a constant reminder helps me to remember the goals that I have set.

The next thing I did was print out a bunch of monthly calendar pages. I slipped each years worth into sheet protectors. I hung each set on my wall next to my list of resolutions. No it is not the pretties way to do it, and next year I will try and make some way to make this into something cute, but it works. Then each sheet protector is labeled with a goal I have (such as working out). I have a dry erase marker sitting next to my bed as well. Each day/night I do something I cross out that day. This is another visual reminder that I am completing my goals. Once the month is over (say when January ended) I pulled the page for January out, with February sitting right behind it ready to go.

Lastly, I have made my goals known. That way if I seem to falter or get discouraged, I have people there cheering me on, and helping me along the way. (It also secretly pushes me so I don't fail in front of others as well.)

I have decided with my working out/losing weight goals that I need something more than just a calendar page showing what I have accomplished. I have made another work out schedule that I can follow.

Example:
Wednesday: AM: Walk 1 - 2 miles (slow and relaxed) followed by 10 minutes of stretching.
PM: Zumba class at the gym

I have these for each day of the week (except Sunday as that is my rest day). I figure if I can get in some light exercising in (yoga, walking, simple stretching) along with a harder work out (Zumba, weight lifting, running), I will accomplish my goals. I have also put in writing my food plan to follow.

I am a very Type A personality so I like lists and schedules and calendars. If I have it in writing I feel more organized and on top of what I am doing. I hope any of these ideas can help you in your journey to completing some of your goals. Good luck!

One month down

Today is the last day of January, 2011. Did you make any New Years Resolutions? If so, are you sticking to them, or did you give up?

I know for me this year, I created quite a few resolutions. I am doing really good on some of them, but others I am falling a little bit behind. For most people it takes from 60-90 days to create a habit. I am gonna be totally honest and say that I haven't done any of my resolutions for the past 31 days straight, so I am not gonna be hitting my 60 days right away. What I will say is that even though I haven't been perfect, I am not giving up on them yet.

I realized a few weeks ago that having a goal is a wonderful place to START, but it is only 1 piece to the puzzle. We must also have a road map or a plan as to HOW we are going to get there.

First I will tell you what my resolutions are. Putting them out there for everyone to read holds me at least accountable to try my best to hold up to them.

My 2011 New Years Resolutions:
1) Lose 10-15 pounds and tone up (I think weight loss is on about about 97% of the people who makes resolutions lists)
2) Run a 5K by the end of the summer
3) Do 30 minutes of physical activity 6 days a week (this can include running around and playing with my kids, cleaning the house, etc)
4) Read 1 - 2 personal books each month
5) Read my scriptures (for my church) 5 - 6 nights a week
6) Work harder at being a better mother (by learning to have more patience and using a quite voice when I get upset)
7) Work harder at being a better wife (by paying more attention to my husbands needs and wants)
8) Get a B- or better in all classes I take
9) Volunteer/do Charity work/Donate items once a month
10) Do/Say something kind for/to someone each and everyday. Also work and putting other before myself
11) By Christmas have most, if not all, the rooms in the house cleaned out, de-cluttered/organized & re-painted
12) Do/complete 1 craft project every month
13) Practice the piano 2-3 times a week (can be as short as 5 minutes each time)
14) Learn one new thing every month (this can be anything & everything)
15) Get all past financial records put on to our computer banking log (Quicken) & stay up-to-date on all financial record keeping
16) Write in my journal every night that I am able to
17) Start (and maintain) a mommy blog (whoo hoo....I am doing this one right now), a weight loss/becoming healthy blog & a church blog
18)Learn how to sew, crochet (I can say I have learned a basic chain stitch so I am working on this) & knit well.

There is my list. Yes it is pretty hefty, but I have a plan in place to keep on track and get to where I want to be by the end of the year. Check back tomorrow for how I plan to keep on my resolutions journey. And, don't give up on yours quite yet, even if you haven't been sticking to them. We can all get there!

Great Expectations

We have all seen items like the "Your Baby Can Read" programs. We have all sat and wondered should my child be crawling, walking, talking, this, that or another thing. Over the last couple of days I have really had a chance to see first hand how we all strive to push our kids to do this or that as soon as possible. To think that if they are not crawling by 6-8 months, or talking before 2 years old, then there might be something wrong.

With my younger son (Little B), I went through that talking dilemma that he wasn't talking at the appropriate age. We talked to his doctor who recommended us to a speech therapist. The speech therapist came out twice a month to work with Little B. In my honest opinion I didn't really see that she did a whole lot. 30-45 minutes twice a month wasn't having much impact. (Not saying she maybe didn't help for those speech therapists out there, just saying we didn't see that as a change in our house.) What did have an impact was that we realized we had been doing things different with him than with his older brother. With Big B we sat down each and ever night to read a book or two. He was also our only child so we talked TO him.
We soon realized with Little B that we were putting him to bed without reading him a book, and since he wasn't talking, we were all talking AROUND him, and not WITH him.

When we changed how we did things in our house, we noticed a huge change. He started learning and saying new words every single day. I also think that at the time he just wasn't ready to talk. There is nothing wrong with that. Now he is a happy, healthy and VERY talkative 2 year old.

The next incident came a week or so ago. I have been stressing quite a bit lately because Big B, our kindergartner, isn't reading all his words yet. I thought that he was behind and at times I was getting so frustrated when we read together because it just didn't make sense that he could get the words (words like "this", "them" and "they"). I talked with his teacher who said he had a tendency to space out when it came to reading. Because of this, I thought to myself, I wonder if maybe there is something wrong. I spent a few days worrying about what we were going to do. If we needed to see a doctor about it, or if there was more we could do at home.

A few days ago a wonderful neighbor (who also happens to be my amazing visiting teacher) was over and we were talking about kids and school. She had taken a child development class and was telling me that some kids brains just don't "click" into the "education" mode until age 6 or later. She also told me to relax. The school we are in is supposed to be the most rigorous in our district, and they push kids to learn faster. I decided to wait it out a little while and see how things panned out before taking Big B to the doctor.

Well an amazing moment happened yesterday. I was sitting and talking with out day care provider and telling her about my concerns. She told me that the other kids she tends who are his same age, and a little older, we not even reading simple words yet, and they were also just learning their letters and the sounds they make. What?! I thought. I have been worrying and pushing Big B because I thought he was behind when really he is doing amazingly well for his age. All because I had it in my mind that he was supposed to be further along than he was. That was such a sigh of relief.

I am not saying that some people might have children who need a little more push, or help in areas of their life. I know there will be times that my kids wont be able to catch on to things so easily. Heck, there are times I struggle to understand things that seem like they should be so simple. What I am just getting at is there isn't a set moment when you kids are supposed to know how to do something. It's best to relax and help them in their journey of life. To teach them and love them, and let them grow. (At their own pace)

I'm here

I am so excited to finally be here. Starting a blog is something I have been thinking about and pondering on for a while now. I am so happy that you have stopped by for a visit, and are taking the time to read my blog. 

To start I just want to tell you that yes, I am a supermom. Why do you ask? Because I am a mom. I have amazing children who are HAPPY and know I LOVE THEM. That in itself makes me a super mom in my mind. If you have a child who you love, who knows you love them and are happy then you should consider yourself a super mom (or dad) as well. 

Being a parent is not an easy journey. There is no handbook on how to raise our children. I don't remember ever being told how HARD it was actually going to be. I think I was in la la land when I thought that it was all sunshine and roses with babies. But I would never change it for the world. My kids are my greatest blessing and my greatest joy. The light up my world with just their smile.

I may not be a "complete" super mom every day, but I am striving to be. It is a constant journey to be the best I can be. To make the most out of every single day I have. Though I wish I was able to have 48 hour days, instead of 24, and only had to sleep 4 hours to be satisfied.

I juggle keeping the schedules of my own life, my husbands life, my children's lives, as well as keep the house running, working, school and everything else that I do. Somehow it works. Not every day is like clockwork, but in the end it works. 

Thank you again for taking the time to stop by. :) Life is a journey and I am glad we can all be on it together.