Finer Things Friday!

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Amy's blog, The Finer Things In Life.  I seem to star every post she writes in my Google Reader.  Her posts always remind me to cherish the little things, which is one of my most important goals to become a better mom and person.  She started a link up where she shared the little things she cherished this week, and I thought it would be a good contrast to my Dirty Little Secrets posts.  A little good karma never hurt anyone, okay!?  Swing over to Amy's and link up if you want to count your blessings this week!

1. The Basics.  Obviously this has been a HUGE week for counting blessings since we've all see the devastation in Japan.  I couldn't imagine not knowing where my family was, having no home or basic necessities, or any real hope in the near future.  I am so glad that I have a home, food, and my family all near me!

2. My bed warmer.  It seems so stupid after #1, but I hate getting into a cold bed, and my electric mattress pad makes sure that never happens!

3. The look on my kids' faces when they learn something new, or are proud of themselves.  I wish I could can it and ration it out for the rest of my life.

4. My dump run.  It felt SO good to stuff my van with empty boxes, crap I'll never use, etc. and GET RID OF IT!  Who knew you could have so much fun for the $5 dump fee?  I felt so much better once it was out of my life.

5. Facebook.  I know, but seriously, I love that I can feel like I know a little about what's going on with my circle of friends even if we don't have time to personally call each other all the time.  Plus I can fit it into my life when it's good for me.

6. My new family room, and my husband who motivated me to get it done.  We finally swamped out our old "game room" and repainted to make it a nice room for everyone.  The kids love playing down there, I hopefully will have less of a mess in my living room, AND I gained a photo studio space out of the deal.  Mr. Wright got a happy wife and kids- what more could he ask for!?

7. That I'm a Stay At Home Mom.  I'd love to actually stay at home one of these days, but I'm am so blessed to be able to not work while my kids are young.  I love that we can actually spend quality time at home together while they're on Spring Break, instead of me needing to work during that time.

8. Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.  I can't end this all sappy!  Peanut Butter Cups are like mommy fuel... or maybe like Mommy crack, I'm not sure which is more accurate.  All I know is whenever my kids get them they know to hand them over because they'll end up disappearing from their stash eventually anyway.  They're just dang good!  Mmmmm!

40 Bags in 40 Days Check In!

Is anyone else participating in the 40 bags in 40 days this year?  I have to admit that I've gotten off to a less than stellar start this year, but it seems to be motivating me to "catch up" since I've only donated 4 bags so far, and they were already filled with stuff even before I started the challenge.  Plus it's spring break so I have more free time to work on the house instead of playing chauffeur all day!  Sooo, as long as I'm decluttering it doesn't matter that my kids are living off Lunchables in their jammies, right!?  Yeah... you can get back to me on that one!

I know I have enough crap to donate, and none of it is currently getting used anyway since I can't find anything, but I have to fight that constant feeling of "needing" that, even if it just wastes away.  I'm trying to break through that cycle and ditch anything that doesn't get used or loved.

As soon as I publish this I am heading down to my hoarder like laundry room to get rid of the "easy" stuff that's just in the way.  Hopefully I'll have some better totals next week!  Clearing out my life one garbage bag at a time sure worked for me last year, and I'm hoping it will again!

Total bags (Week One) 4
Remaining bags             36

How's your 40 bags in 40 days going??

Merit Gone Wrong

Okay, so I totally blew it with the Merit for Moms thing, but who is really surprised?  Life got in the way... I started working a few days a week, the after school activities started again and my family reminded me that they prefer clean dishes to dirty ones.  They're all snooty like that...

Mr.Wright and I have been redecorating the family room to change it from the unloved ex-game room to a room we can all enjoy.  We painted part of the room this fantastic shade of blue that is so buttery you just want to swim in it.  We're still finishing up the painting, and since we had to clear the room to paint all my crap ended up in the garage.  You never really realize how much stuff you have until you have to take it out load by load.  Then you realize that you have a LOT of crap, and since we never hang out down there it's pretty much wasted crap.  Keeping up so far!?

Tomorrow happens to be Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent ( I think, I'm kinda a Catholic drop out!).  Last year for Lent I did 40 Bags in 40 Days and got rid of a different ton of crap (yes, there was MORE crap).  So, starting tomorrow I'll be taking the challenge again.  Since I actually finished that challenge last year it should be more promising than the Merit challenge!

If your interested in joining the 40 bags in 40 days challenge with me link up your progress on Wednesdays (starting tomorrow!) and we can cheer each other on!  I'm excited (and a little disgusted) that after this challenge I will have dumped EIGHTY BAGS of stuff.  Don't tell my husband or he'll just tell you that I have at least 80 more hidden ALL over this house.  Shhh!

Merit For Moms!

I totally fell off the wagon this week- I really should have built in some "off" days!  No real excuse for why, but I just did.  I'm back on track today and spent over 2 hours cleaning my bedroom, so that kinda makes up for it I guess.  I was going to take pictures but the thought of literally showing all my dirty laundry on the blog was too much.  Sooo, you're just going to have to trust me ;)

I'm also doing tons of laundry since I unearthed lots of clothes that might be clean, so I rewashed everything just in case.  My kitchen has been staying halfway clean, and I've been keeping up with the dishes, so that's good news too!

We're headed out to a "bouncy" birthday party so I'm glad I got my organizing done for today since I may not be able to walk later!  How's your organizing going?

Merit For Moms! A Clean Slate

Finally, after who know HOW many 30 minutes sessions, I got my craft room clean!!  It's so inspiring to not only have a clean space, but to have unearthed all my cool stuff that I forgot I had.  I really want to craft all sorts of things, but I also just want to sit on my spinny chair and stare at the one uncluttered, organized, all MINE room in the house without messing it up.

Remember that craft table before?  The one that held all the crap that I had NO idea what to do with?



Well, here she is now!



And I didn't just shove any of it into the cabinets either!



Now I have a nice place to organize all my batting, interfacing, scraps and random 'not pretty enough to display' fabrics! (Notice my brand spankin' new Silhouette that doesn't work :(  I'm waiting for a reply from tech support.)



Fabric shelf pretty much looks the same



All my photography stuff tucked away waiting to utilize that blank wall at a moment's notice



I'm not used to having an organized closet, so I just couldn't bear to shut the curtains!



My little helper Georgia guarding the door from room trashing munchkins!



Are you sticking to your 30 minutes a day?  I'm thinking of moving on to my laundry room since it will probably provide me with MONTHS of 30 minute sessions :P

Merit For Moms! Purse Clean Out!

 {What I had}

What has 29 receipts, 2 packs of gum, 9 lip glosses, 2 granola bars, 3 suckers, a first aid kit, $140 that I didn't know I had, a pound of change, wet wipes, a tape dispenser, recipe cards, and an emergency peanut butter cup?  My overstuffed purse of course!!  The funny thing is you don't know HOW MANY of those things I've wanted but "didn't have" since my purse was so messy. 


{What I needed}

Target won the award for oldest receipt from 11/16, and I had coupons for shampoo that expired on 10/30.  I'm still missing a $30 Target gift card that I'm hoping will turn up, but it's so nice to want gum and to actually know where it is!


{All tucked away!}

Dirty Little Secrets!

I downloaded a trashy romance novel onto my Kindle since it was free, and ended up really liking it!

I didn't have the energy yesterday to do my 30 minutes of organizing on my craft room, so I sat on the couch and cleaned out my purse!  Yes, sadly, it did take 30 minutes!

Everyone in Alaska was complaining about the lack of snow and the weird 40 degree temperatures, and I was in HEAVEN!

My kids had Campbell's soup, PB&J and hot dogs for dinner last night... in their bedrooms.  Shh!

I air dried something that I needed because I didn't want to take the stuff out of the dryer and fold it.

My laundry room looks like an episode of Hoarders... again!

I would rather push my groceries in a broken cart through 12 inches of snow than let the people "help me to my car" at our small local store since my van looks like a dumpster.

I spent $175 on a Silhouette cutter and have barely touched it.

I spent another $100 on North Face jeans that I can't wear until I hem them... right around never.

I think it's funny that my kids' school has recycle bins in every classroom for scraps but sends eleventy billion sheets of information overload home every day.

I had an inappropriate dream about Vanilla Ice and felt sick to my stomach when I woke up.  Seriously subconscious!?  We couldn't do better than Vanilla Ice!?  Luckily I woke up before anything happened.  NO MORE Vanilla Ice Project before bed! *barf*

Merit For Moms- My Progress!

I've been moving my craft crap back into my old craft room and spending my 30 minutes of organizing in there mostly.  I don't have a before picture since it wasn't in this room before, but picture the dumpster behind a goodwill store and that's pretty close. 

I was proud of myself that I organized as I brought things into the room instead of my normal plan of dumping everything in a huge pile on the floor and sorting it out "later" with later never coming.  All the stuff left on the craft table are things that don't really have a home, but I still have some cabinet space left to fill, and I guess I could get rid of some stuff... if I really had to.







I was also proud that I ACTUALLY used an idea from 'My Favorite Things' by making the mini fabric bolts from foam core board.  I swear I don't live in as small of a town as people think, but I bought the last 2 pieces of foam board in existence and still need more to wrap the rest of my fabric.  Also, I've never been pissed that I owned so much felt until I had to unfold, smooth, refold, stuff and organize it to make it look cute.  Don't be holding your breath for any felt projects any time soon either since I'd rather buy new felt than unfold and refold those babies.

All my neglected scrapbooking supplies, clothing for repurposing, and other crafty stuff that isn't "cute" found a home in the closet.  I'm thrilled to report that the shelves were $90, and the foam board was $10, so I only spent $100 to transform my stuff from a pile of crap to a cute (and hopefully functional!) space.  I'm also hoping that having all my fabric out in the open will remind me to use it instead of buying new fabric for every single project that I think I'll "someday" finish.

How are you doing with your organizing??  Are you tackling a giant space or a different little space every day?

Merit For Moms!

So Sweetie Pie recently decided to become a Girl Scout, and even though the Daisy patches are kind of lame (Be Fair and Honest instead of camping patch, etc.) she is still really motivated and driven to earn her patches.  She can literally show everyone what she's learned and done through Girl Scouts, all with the patch "reward" at the end.  That should have been enough to give me this great idea, but it wasn't.

Have you ever just wandered around the library and found something that you were never, ever looking for but it kind of found you?  That's what happened with this patch idea.  I'm not sure why I was even in that section, or if my backwoods tiny library just shelves things differently than the rest of the world, but it jumped off the shelf.  It was You Can Do It!: The Merit Badge Handbook for Grown Up Girls.  I flipped through it and checked it out, even though the "badges" were earned through hobbies such as dancing and wine tasting- not really what I was looking for.  As I read the beginning it really touched me, as the author passed away on September 11, 2001, and her sisters finished the book and got it published.  It really drove home the "live every day like it's your last point" even if the ways I want to improve my life are a bit different.

The book sat on my counter for almost a week before all the ideas mashed up in my head and collided like my kids hopped up on Red Bull.  Why couldn't I earn badges for doing my dishes!?  Or laundry?  I'd do almost anything for a little credit...

So, I thought it was a great idea for the beginning of the new year, and frankly I didn't have time to think about it with Christmas, Sweetie Pie's birthday and New Year's plans.  Instead of making lofty resolutions that will be gone by February I'm going to break up my long term goals into smaller chunks that are easier to work on every day. I decided that every month I would work on a new "badge" starting with organizing, since it is the most obvious choice after the toy storm.

Every day in January I'm going to spend at least 30 minutes organizing ANYTHING in my house, whether it's my purse or a huge room.  As long as I spend 30 minutes, every day, then I earn my patch.  I made a button in case anyone wants to join me, but really this is something I'm doing for myself and my family.

Stay tuned for way more frequent updates about my progress earning my patch, and I'd love to hear from you and your progress if you decided to try it!

Hello??  Does anyone still read my sad, neglected blog?

A Day In The Wrong

My kids didn't pick up the million crayons they got out.
And they were all over the floor under the table.
So I made them clean up.
And they were "too cold".
So they wrapped themselves in big blankets.
And Little Man was more interested in flinging his blanket around than picking up.
And he knocked a full cup of sticky juice onto the floor.
So I went to get my Shark mop.
And I remembered that it wasn't working and needed to be cleaned.
So I started my computer to find the cleaning tutorial I bookmarked.
But I didn't have internet because the wind was gusting to 80 miles per hour and it knocked my power out for 10 second outages.
So I reset my modem and router.
And I attempted to get online again.
But my computer suddenly wouldn't turn on.
So I did the dishes and waited for it to turn on.
And it didn't.
So I took the battery out and tried again.
And it started.
Then it crashed and flashed me the blue screen of death.
So I panicked and slammed it shut.
And tried again.
Then it started.
So I went to open Firefox and it wouldn't open.
Then I Googled using Internet Explorer.
And system restore seemed like the best option.
So I was thinking I was going to lose all our recent family photos.
So I burned them onto a disc.
And then restored.
But I didn't lose them.
But Firefox still wouldn't work.
And I couldn't find the mop tutorial anywhere else.
And I still had a sticky floor and a broken mop.
And I didn't want to uninstall Firefox and lose all my bookmarks including the freaking mop one.
So I cleaned the floor by hand.
And threw away the sticky crayons.
And washed the wet blankets.
Then the power went out again.
And that made the smoke detector beep at 2am.
And it scared my kids.
And they were crying.
So I stood on a chair.
And I couldn't get the wires out.
So I had to wake up Mr.Wright.
Then we changed the batteries.
And I was grumpy and slept like crap.
So I got up and tried to get on my computer.
But it still wouldn't work.
So I took the plunge.
And I uninstalled.
Then I reinstalled.
And I didn't lose a single bookmark.
So I backed them up just in case.
And I fixed my mop.
And next time, I'll just pick up the freaking crayons myself.

My Favorite Things!

Back by popular errr, no demand!  I just felt like it... okay!?

An adorable little Homemade Felt Pizza setup from Chris, Erin and Jayce!  Have I mentioned that I ♥ felt!?

A great post about getting motivated to organize from Steady Mom.  Not that I need any help in that department or anything.  Yeah... that was a joke.

There is NO way that I could keep up with this fantastic mini bolt fabric storage, but it makes my selective OCD tingle and that's always a good thing in my book!

I have a little tradition of picking out every holiday's shirts that I'm not going to end up making for my kids but that I think I will.  This reindeer applique shirt is the Christmas version of my seasonal failure.

This Bibbee dress from Innocentia looks a little detailed for my mediocre sewing skills, but it sure is adorable!  You could make them in all different colors or alternating colors for more than one little girl without being too matchy-matchy.

I'm also fooling myself into thinking that I'll make some of these handmade paper bows instead of slapping on a 5 cent squashed mismatched bow as we're running out the door... if I remember a bow at all!

Happy Holidays!

Accomplishment... And Other Sicknesses

Yesterday I ran some errands in the morning and then decided to relax on the couch "for a minute or two".  I'm not sure what happened next but my kids were all laying down trying to catch up on some Z's and I had rented season 1 of Reba.  Please don't judge me, that's a good show!  Plus it was only disks 2 and 3...

Anyway, I meant to watch "an episode or two" before cleaning up my pig pen of a house and next thing I know it's 6pm, I finished the whole season, and my kids had trashed my house even more.  CRAP!  I felt so guilty that I had wasted the day so I cranked up the Taylor Swift, popped in a frozen pizza and got cleaning.  The first thing to go was the Halloween decorations.  Technically all I did was take them down and make a pile to put under my house, but progress is progress.  Little Man put all the shoes on the shelves and hung up all the winter gear so my entryway looked great!

I even went above and beyond and vacuumed the real spiderwebs that had accumulated above the fake spiderweb.  While I had the vacuum out I remembered that my ceiling fan really needed a dusting, so I vacuumed that too.  I was already standing on the counter, singing at the top of my lungs like an idiot, so I thought it would be a good time to suck up all that dust on top of my cabinets.  My house was coming along, and the kids and I had fun doing it!

The problem is that today I've been sitting on my butt since I actually did something yesterday.  I slept in and my kids had taken down a box of 8 Pop-Tarts before 8 am and left the wrappers and crumbs everywhere.  8 freaking Pop-Tarts for 3 little kids!  Sitting around would be okay if I had done dishes or laundry yesterday, but I didn't.  We have no clean towels, Little Man has been wearing Sweetie Pie's socks all weekend, and the kids are using my Grandma's breakable plates because we've used all the plastic.  Oh, and since I used the pizza yesterday I have no plan for dinner.

The goal for the rest of the day is to catch up a little so we at least have clean towels, socks and plates for tomorrow.  Bonus points for being able to see the kids' floors before bedtime ;)

Backfired

I woke up this morning with some motivation... I swear I did.  I got up, got in the shower, and started mentally planning my day.  Unfortunately my bubble was popped when 2 minutes into my shower a puking/crying child came running in.  Every time I'd get us both clean she would puke again.  Finally it slowed down and I was able to get us both out and dried off.  She continued to puke all morning virtually zapping any ounce of motivation that I had. 

I guess I WILL accomplish some laundry today, but she's going through it just as fast as I could wash it, so I wouldn't really count that as progress.  And I'm so stressed and emotional that I cried at the end of Toy Story 3.  Sorry for yet another dry downer post, but it seems like there's bad news around every corner.  Yep, one of those days weeks.

Ok, So That Wasn't Good

That post I just poured my heart out in?  The one about me feeling weird about my FB friends reading my blog?  It just posted on Facebook.  Awkward!  I'm trying again, and hopefully now that I've changed my settings again, blocked Networked Blogs AND revoked the publishing rights it shouldn't show up anymore.  BUT since this is my life I'm sure it will post this blog too.  Then I'll feel really weird, shut down my computer, eat some chips and pretend this never happened.  Avoidance is, after all, the best medicine.  Deal?  Good.

The Not Much Up-Date

Soooo, I suck.  We've covered this before.  I have realized in the last few weeks that I want to post stuff on my blog but it was starting to bother me that everything I posted here would show up on my personal Facebook page.  It didn't used to bother me for some reason, but now it does.  I guess I just need to feel like when I bare my soul to the world it is mostly heard by people just like me.  People who understand and don't just judge.  I blog for the women who comment on my posts and say "I could have written that!" or "I feel that same way".  I tell my sad, sad stories about what I found under my couch (crayons, socks, unidentifiable crumbs) or how long it's been since I changed my kids sheets (months!) and people say "Me too!" or just don't say anything at all (thanks for that too :D )

I'll lose some readers, and they can always still find me, but it won't be so easy for some distant acquaintance (whom I only friended because we have 29847 friends in common even though we've hardly spoken) to read all about how much dirty laundry I have on my bathroom floor.  I believe that I've changed the setting correctly so that no longer happens, and now hopefully I'll feel more in the blogging spirit!

Whew, with that out of the way I can move on to my "not much update"! 

I didn't do dishes for 4 days.  Then I did, but they were so behind that I had to hand wash some and now I have a buttload of dishes to put away and haven't.  They're all over my counter just like when they were dirty.

I didn't do laundry for 6 days.  I started a load and then my washing machine stopped working.  And we had NO clean clothes... because I hadn't done laundry in 6 days.  I panicked and unplugged it, then plugged it back in.  Thank goodness that worked, but every few loads it stops in the middle of a cycle and I have to unplug and replug.  Pain in the butt, but better than buying a new washing maching.

I put up Halloween decorations.  BEFORE Halloween.  And they looked awesome.  But now I have to take them down and that's not so awesome. 

Oh!  And my friend Mrs. Awesome helped me cook a bunch of ground beef to make freezer meals with because she rocks!  But I don't really have any other ingredients to make meals so it's slim pickings tonight.

I've been horrible on the craft front, but realistic about how many "hand made" Christmas gifts I'll actually get done in time (none).  I usually spend so much on all the supplies for a gift that I can just buy something cheaper and save myself the stress of not getting it done and shopping last minute. 

So, that's what's up.  I suck, and I'm okay with it I guess.  After over 18 months writing this blog I think I've possibly gotten WORSE than I was before... which isn't good, but what can you do!?

Snail's Pace

The good news:
I cleaned my kitchen for 6 solid hours this weekend.  I took pictures on my phone but it's ALL the way across the room, soooo you won't be seeing them right now.

The bad news:
My selective OCD came out in FULL force so I only got a small section of the kitchen actually clean.  If someone stops by to inspect my baseboards or cereal cupboard I'm going to be in GOOD shape though... as long as they don't need to to fit their purse on my counter. 

You know that game at the fair or arcade where you drop coins into the machine and try to push a bunch off the other side!? 

Yeah, that was the worst description ever, but does anyone know what I'm talking about? 

Anyone!?  Helloooooooooo?

Ok, maybe it's just me- that's how I feel when I put something on my kitchen counter except I'm trying not to push the stuff off the other side.  It's very technical... ahem.

Oh, I also read three books this weekend.  It's hands down my best reading record ever.  And they weren't short little stories or anything either... ok, well, they weren't exactly Pride and Prejudice.  Two were Sophie Kinsella novels and one was a similar novel that was weird but sucked me in.  It was nice to float into the clouds with my books.  I'm not super sure what my kids were doing that whole time, but they're still breathing today so that's good news!  And I've decided that I just want to move into a Sophie Kinsella novel, just in case you were wondering.

Ok, back to earth- today I'm going to keep up with my dishes and do some laundry.  If I'm feeling super crazy then I'll plan out some Christmas presents so I can get started on my handmade gifts that I'll abandon in November.  Yeeeeep.  That's it. :D

Slacker

Ugggg, such a slacker.  I've been so lazy that I haven't had the energy to whine about how lazy I am.  My laundry is behind, I had to hand wash forks just so we could eat dinner, etc.  You get the picture.  Basically I've been in survival mode- the kids have gotten to school, on time, in clean clothes, with lunch.  Anything beyond that is just asking too much these days.

I did manage to get my Halloween decorations up last week, which is WAY better than when I put them up on the 30th last year just to get ONE freaking trick or treater.  I left them up until I got out the Christmas stuff in protest.  Plus I wasn't delusional this year and just bought costumes for my kids instead of pretending to be super mom (like my crazy awesome friend who hand makes ALL her kids costumes every year, and they're themed to all coordinate with each other- see, isn't she awesome!?)  I'm just proud that the costumes are purchased and ready, and that I haven't bought candy that I'll just eat.

Soooo, that's where I'm at.  I've got tons of good posts floating around in my head, I've just been in a fog and haven't typed them out yet.  Typical me :)

Lazy Mopping

I'm the laziest of moppers since I have a Shark Mop now.  I leave it full of water (and sneak cleaner in there too so my floors don't smell like burnt toast!) so all I have to do is plug it in and mop away.  I used to have a better system when I mopped the old school way and now my trash can stinks.  How are those related!?  I'll tell you...

I can't take credit for this since I remember reading it in a magazine, but when I mopped with a mop and bucket I would get SO frustrated that I couldn't fit my rectangular mop head in the round bucket.  Sometimes I would just fill up my kitchen sink with mop water like my mom always did, but that requires that your sink isn't full of dishes like mine ALWAYS is.  So this solution BLEW MY MIND! 



This lady, whoever she is, would bag up her trash and then fill the trash can with hot water and soap!  She would use it as a mop bucket while simultaneously soaking and deodorizing her trash can.  GENIUS!

Like I said, I don't do it this way anymore, and now my trash can is paying the price.  You wouldn't BELIEVE the amount of nasties that get behind and under the bag!  Disgusting.

So, to recap:
1. Bag up trash and leave it for your husband.
2. Dump out any crumbs over balcony and try not to drop the garbage can 10 feet to the ground.
3. Use the crappiest clogged spray hose ever to fill the garbage can (about 1/4 full) with hot water at snail speed since the sink is full of dishes... again.
4. Add soap and realize that your kids inherited your unnatural love for the smell of Pine-Sol.
5. Blog about how awesome you are for stealing someone else's idea.
6. Dip a rag into the water and wipe down the inside, outside and lid.
7. Mop to your heart's content!
8. Dump out the water into a drain or outside.  If you're really thrifty you could dump a little in each of your toilets and have Pine-Sol fresh toilets too!  Uhhhh, mine's going outside though! :)
9. Enjoy your freshly mopped floors and your clean & deodorized garbage can!

And that's why using your garbage can as a mop bucket... uh.... used to Work For Me!!

Sew In Control

I could feel like my world isn't spinning out of control today for a number of reasons.  The first could be that I actually got up at 6am this morning when my alarm went off, then I actually got my butt in the shower, and then I actually spent some quality time with Jillian Michael's Yoga Meltdown.  Alright, fine... I just watched it from the couch.  In my opinion it would be dangerous to undergo a new exercise routine without first reviewing it in my jammies AND consulting my doctor, so there you go.

I also did some sewing today.  I don't know what it is about the act of messing up projects, but sewing is SO zen for me.  I'm whipping up a few of those reusable snack & sandwich bags for my friend.  They're so easy that I threw in a few for my own bagless kids too!  AND I'm using up some PUL fabric that I bought back in my cloth diapering days.  AND some other fabric that has been hanging out in the towering stack of "someday I'll use this" items.

The timing couldn't be better since I'm linking up on Friday to the Use Your Crap challenge!  I'm so excited to actually be using something I already own instead of just buying new crap to add to the pile.  Here's a sneak peek of one of the bags!



I'm also doing the "Use Your Crap" challenge across the board and clearing out some of my Canadian chocolate that's been wasting away for almost 6 weeks in my pantry.



This Coffee Crisp must be illegal in the U.S. for being TOO good, that's why they don't have them here.  Mmmm, happy day! :) 

Oh, and I got a comment from Valerie at Frugal Family Fun about her Awesome Remote with a bacon button that made her think of me and it made me smile.  Thanks, Valerie, for letting me live in a bacon remote kind of world today :D
Any awesome things happening to you today?

Doughnut Pass Go

Uggg, slacking again.  In my defense I've been editing photos during every spare second I've had since Saturday.  My dishes are done but my laundry is piling up.  I thought over my life plan with some doughnuts.   After some pondering I realized that all I had figured out was that I wanted a second doughnut.  So I ate it :D  And now I have NO plan for today even though I have a million things to do... How's your week going??

Dirty Little Secrets

It's been a while, and lately I've been so lazy that my whole blog has turned into a dirty little secret!  If you have your own dirty little secret I'd love to hear it in the comments.  As always, you can comment anonymously ;)

I'm so behind on laundry that for the first time in MONTHS Little Man had to search for socks before school.

I haven't made my bed in weeks.

My kids almost missed the bus this morning because I was playing on my phone.

The kids have a locked closet full of toys that I was going to rotate in and out, but I never did.  I can't let go of them either though...

I told myself that I'd volunteer at the kids' school while Boo was at preschool but I didn't.

I talk my kids into hot lunch that sounds gross so I won't have to make cold lunch.

It bothers me that I used "kids" in the last 4 confessions and I feel the need to split them up.  (that's its own confession)

I hate Fall.  In fact, if we could skip straight from Summer to Thanksgiving I'd be happy.

I'm still thinking of starting my photography business.  I have tens of thousands of pictures of my kids.  I have ONE (outdated even) picture on my walls.  ONE.

I still have my carry on bag packed from my trip I took a month ago.  Skymall anyone?

C'Mon... what's your dirty little secret!?

Cleaning FAIL

Ok, so I didn't do a whole heck of a lot yesterday.  I did get my stove elements scrubbed and reassembled, but only because we'd be really hungry if I didn't.  I got one load of laundry washed and dried, but it's all wrinkled up in the dryer still, with the second load mildewing in the washer.  Whoops!  Today isn't looking a whole lot better since Boo has preschool and I'll be totally kidless on Thursday mornings for the first time in over 6 years.  Mr. Wright has the day off, so we're definitely not going to spend the morning at home doing laundry. 

Today I will:
Collect the garbage and take it to the end of the driveway
Fold laundry from the dryer
Dry, then fold the laundry from the washing machine
Put the basket of folded clothes away from yesterday
Ignore the banister crap for now
Keep up with dishes and counters

What A Crock

Captain Jammie Pants log, September 15th.  Way too damn early in the morning.



Yesterday I mostly kept up with the dishes and counters.  This morning I was left with a few things that didn't get hand washed after dinner, but for the most part the dishes are done.  I'm probably the only person on the planet that makes my meal plan to avoid crockpots since I detest washing them so much.  I'm searched high and low for those cool crock liner bags but haven't found them ANYWHERE!  I made a roast yesterday in the crockpot and it's still soaking in water because I like avoiding things.

I didn't get a speck of laundry done yesterday either, but I'm trying not to feel badly about it since I did jackhammer my stove clean and soaked my drip pans and other elements in ammonia overnight.  I also got a little work done on Boo's toy pit and collected at least 2 loads of laundry off Little Man and Sweetie Pie's floor.  I even read a little in my book!

I've been busting my butt to get even the basics checked off my list, but I'm noticing that it leaves me with NO time to catch up on my shows, hang out with the kids, etc.  I'm sure that sounds funny to ladies who do it all every day, but I miss my Teen Mom!!  Although I've always had the urge to clean Amber & Gary's apartment... yikes!

Today I will:
Do 2 loads of laundry since I didn't do any yesterday
Put away the folded clothes that have been in the living room for 2 days
Reassemble the stove
Clean off (or work on) the banister behind my couch which is a catch-all for crap I don't know what to do with

Book Mark

I'm SO tired this morning, and for the first time in 3 weeks I've had trouble peeling myself out of bed at 6am.  I'm sure it's because I never did get around to watching some trashy tv and halfway taking a break last night.  That bookshelf was just taunting me and I had to shut it up.  It still has two baskets of random crap that was just too much to take on at 9pm, but for the most part it is better.  I even got around to making a little homework center with pencils and extra paper!

The messy bookshelf before:


And after:

(More phone pictures, but I'm lazy and bad pictures are better than NO pictures!)

The laundry got folded, but not quite put away since I did it after the kids were already asleep.  The dishes got done and I woke up to a clean kitchen again this morning!  As it gets darker every day in Alaska I'm thankful for knowing there isn't anything to trip on.

Today I will:
Not give myself too many goals since I start teaching preschool with Boo
Keep up with dishes and counters
1 load of laundry- washed, folded and put away
Read some of my book that I abandoned when I started cleaning again!

I'm A Dork, And Other New Developments

Sooooo, I've been trying really hard the last couple days to get my goals reached, and using my blog as motivation to actually finish something. I have to admit that I was a little disappointed when no one commented on my last two posts, but I understood that after not blogging for a month I couldn't expect floods of comments on day 1. Day 2 came and went without a single comment. I was getting lots of traffic, but no comments. I don't blog just for the comments, but it really helps when I don't feel like I'm talking to myself.

Aaaaaaand then I realized that I'm a dork. I had gotten comments on both of those posts, but apparently Blogger is still pissed that I broke up with it for a month and never e-mailed me about them. So I thought I was all alone on my messy island when really I have some lovely ladies rallying around me. Thank you Bethany, LaVonne, Shell & Erin for being a little light in my day, and to all my readers who stop by whether I'm up or down! :)

On to the progress report for today... I've stayed on track with my counters and dishes, and even put out a nice bowl of apples since people get all judgy when you fill your fruit bowl with chips. I got the kids clothes washed and dried, and they're waiting to be folded while I catch up on some trashy tv after the kids go to bed. The bookshelf remains untouched, but I'm trying to stay positive and realize that it will still be there tomorrow and isn't worth stressing over. I hate not reaching my goals, but progress is progress, so anything done is better than nothing!

The Proof Is In The Pudding... Mmm, pudding!

I was tired and grumpy, and I didn't want to do it, but I got my goals accomplished last night after my kids went to bed. I got the counters cleared off and cleaned, folded laundry, picked up clutter in the dining room and living room, and did all the dishes.

Excuse the phone pictures- my camera died 5 pictures into a photo shoot with my kids that I've been planning for weeks!

Dining Room before:


After:


Kitchen before:



After:


Living Room before:


After:


We'll see how long this lasts!

Today I will:
Wash, fold, and put away the kids' laundry
Organize the messy bookshelf in the dining room
Keep dishes and counters under control

Babysteps To Productivity

I'm lazy... in case you didn't know. I suck at meal planning, my house is a mess, my kids don't listen and I just can't keep up. My bills are late, my home is undecorated, there's clutter everywhere and my craft stuff is buried. There's books unread, projects unfinished, piles unsorted and traces of stuffy "somedays" thick in the air. My blog hasn't been updated in a month.

And it's MY fault. I have the time, the resources, the knowledge. I just don't have the effort... the motivation to accomplish the things that I want to do. And I get disappointed in myself, then lazy, until I feel like I'm stuck in a dryer from cycling so quickly.

If I knew how to break the cycle I'd be charging for that little secret. Unfortunately I'm just stuck- going around and around and around. I've tried (and failed) more times than I can count, but I have to keep going. I have six little eyes watching my every move, and what I do, say, and teach them will matter for the rest of their lives.



Today is the day. I could spend the next 8 hours cleaning my house from top to bottom, printing charts for organization or making a meal plan for the next 3 months in an effort to reach my goals for myself. OR, I could make little changes that are more likely to stick. It will take me longer to get there, but I'll have a better chance.

Today I will:
Clean off my counters
Fold what I already washed
Empty, then load the dishwasher
Play with my kids

Will my house be spotless by bedtime? Nope. Will I feel better about my handle on life? Probably not. Will I have much accomplished off my never ending 'to-do' list? Not even close. BUT, it's progress, which is a heck of a lot better than my old plan of sitting on my butt and not having any clean bowls for breakfast. And progress is all I can ask for.

Lazy Freezer Meals

I'm obsessed with reading about freezer cooking and make ahead meals. I always convince myself that the next time I buy groceries I'm going to stock up and make a bunch of meals. It NEVER happens... I think it might be the meals that my family likes though. They're not really casserole people. ANYWAY, I like to have something in the freezer for the days when I don't plan dinner (almost every day, shh!)so in the past I've cooked a bunch of ground beef at once for hamburger helper, tacos, etc.

I took it one step further this time with the help of my awesome friend Mrs. Awesome, who is indeed awesome in case you were wondering. I dropped off 15 pounds of raw ground beef at her house and she threw it all in her 22 qt. roaster and a few hours later had her teenager drop the drained, ready to season meat off at my house. See!? Isn't she AWESOME!?



I put the hot meat in the fridge since I had to make dinner, put my kids to bed, & check my e-mail. You know, just the important stuff! Once I got around to packaging the meat it had solidified into a giant hunk of cooked ground beef. I put the whole bowl into super hot water and "folded laundry" (got on Facebook) while I waited about 20 minutes. The hot water melted the fat just enough that I could stir it up a tiny bit and I loaded it into quart sized freezer bags.

I added packets of taco seasoning and hot water to a few, poured cans of sloppy joe sauce in some, and left the rest plain for hamburger helper and casseroles. It went pretty quickly considering the time it's going to save me, and I know that I'm no more than 5 minutes from dinner as long as I have bread!





I stacked them all up flat in my freezer to save space and for quick thawing... hey, quit counting the ice creams! Don't judge me! There's broccoli right there too! It all evens out I'm sure... Anywhoo, I can open the zip top, throw one of these babies in the microwave for 5 minutes on defrost and I've got cooked seasoned meat. Now that is lazy freezer cooking!

The Un- Post

Every day I think that THIS will be the day that I finally blog. It hasn't worked out yet. Well, I guess this kinda counts, but it's not really what I should be blogging about. I swear I've written at least 5 posts in my head and even taken photos to accompany my imaginary posts, but just haven't sat down and typed them all out.

I've been sewing, making freezer meals, cleaning and organizing, not cleaning and organizing, giving my vacuum a haircut, and writing invisible posts about all of it! Hopefully tomorrow I'll wake up refreshed, not busy, and ready to publish to the world... or maybe I'll sit in my jammies all day again.

Dirty Little Secrets

Whew! It's been a while... I wish my secrets were juicier. I've been pretty lame lately and it's hard to pull shenanigans when you're feeling lazy!

I'm typing this post while on hold with the phone company.

The laundry pile in the kids' bathroom is taller than my tallest kid.

I spent $15 on iTunes to catch up on Glee... and ignored my kids while doing so.

I signed up for a 2 week trial of Blockbuster At Home knowing I was going to keep it after the 2 weeks, but told Mr. Wright it was just a trial. Shhh!

I had a weird dream that I delivered my friend's baby the other night... from the sink drain. I'd love to see what experts say about that creepy stuff.

I've been sending my kids outside to play in the rain because they are SO getting on my nerves. What do I have to do to get a sunny day!?

I'm both excited and nervous to have 2 kids in school, and excited and nervous to have one at home all day to entertain.

Boo spilled an entire carton of chocolate milk on the floor of my van and I haven't cleaned it up yet :X

I've been sleeping in and I'm dreading not being able to do that anymore.

My craft table looks like a tornado went through it. I have no energy to even BEGIN to tackle it.

I'm still on hold... 32 minutes and counting >:( Bleeping Phone Company!

What's your dirty little secret? Share in the comments!

My New Little Buddies

BREAKING NEWS!!



I've given up the cookies and got hooked on these- Frosted Mini Wheat Little Bites. They taste like little bits of chocolate heaven but pack a secret punch of fiber and whole grain (which is how I justify eating half the box at once). I've been eating bowls of just the dry cereal as breakfast, lunch & dinner a snack and my kids think I'm the coolest mom in the world for letting them eat it for breakfast. Seriously, try them. And I wish I was getting free stuff to say that. Make sure you click the link and let them know to send me a lifetime supply. Back to your regular programming...

P.S. Eating Little Bites 24/7 Works For Me!

Picking Up The Pieces

It's been a week since Grandma passed. A long, sad, hard week. I'm trying to be cheerful and just fake it until I make it but I constantly want to cry. Today I did some laundry- something my family was excited to see. Plus I finally ventured out last night to get some much needed groceries. When I fed my kids a Cup O' Noodles for dinner I knew it was time. I'm slowly trying to get back into my "routine" with the help of cookies and reality tv.

I've been given the opportunity to go to the burial in Michigan which will be while Sweetie Pie starts the school year. It's hard to let go of that control freak part of myself, but Mr. Wright will do a great job filling in... right after I teach him how to do her hair. Little Man starts school a week later, so I'll be back in time for his first day of kindergarten at least.

Today I'm going to curl up, watch a movie in my jammies, and eat 10 days worth of groceries...

Hazy

I've gone to write this post I don't know how many times and just couldn't. The last ten days have just been a blur for me. I started off doing really well- my laundry was caught up, the dishes were done, the playroom was FINALLY clean. It was easy to maintain and my mood was improved. On Thursday my sister and I took a guilt free trip to Anchorage to see and movie and visit my sick Grandma. I knew she was going downhill, but she has been for months. I'm SO glad that she got to see Sweetie Pie and Little Man and that I told her I loved her. Friday and Saturday were horrible- I sat around moping just waiting for "the call". By Sunday she was gone... reunited with my Grandpa in Heaven.

I'm so relieved that she is no longer suffering, but sad that my kids will hardly remember her, much less know her lively spirit. I've been trying to keep up with the chores as well as I can, but it's hard when I just want to curl up and cry. I literally think of her every minute, of every day. I think of how she loved sparkly red shoes, college football, and potato chips for dinner... hmmm, I never connected that, but I'm sure she's the key to my snack cravings! It just seems weird to be here on Earth without her.

Tip Me Tuesday

Between pools, swimming holes and lakes we've been spending TONS of time in the water this summer. In Alaska you can't waste a single nice day since you never know when (or if!) you'll get another one. Sometimes that means that we need our swimsuits ready to go 2 days in a row, or we haven't seen them for months. I've come up with a hot tip to help me deal with all the summer fun!


You know you're jealous of my MAD Photoshop skills! ;)

I made up a swim bag! The bag itself is a wetbag left over from our cloth diaper days, but I've seen some adorable ones made out of shower curtains and vinyl tablecloths. It stays in the laundry room so no little ballerinas can sneak their swimsuit out and lose them, and the bag is ready to go at a moment's notice. It has swimsuits for all three kids, extra sunscreen, and three 'b-list' towels since we're not fancy enough to have swim towels. It has saved me HOURS of searching for wherever the kids left their suit last after playing 'the kitchen floor is a super fun swimming pool ONLY when mom's cooking dinner in there'. Sooooo, there's my tip!

*Also linking up to Works For Me Wednesday so I can pimp more traffic out of my swim bag! Bwahahaha!

Just Keep Cleaning, Just Keep Cleaning!

Sorry for the lack of posts this week- I've been busy hanging out with the family and, get this- cleaning! Yeah, baby! You read that right! I'm on a cleaning hot streak and loving every minute! I always forget how much free time I have when I clean more often. Unfortunately I've always gone back to the dark side in the past.

I'm trying to stay positive but I know that it's easier to keep up in the summer when I have a bit of motivation. It's a long, dark, cold Winter, and it would suck the life out of anyone! I'm hoping to establish a good routine and make it stick before I add school, work, and the weather back into the mix.

We had a wonderful day yesterday and took our first official family 'hike'. There was a sign in the parking lot about making lots of noise to scare off the bears, which immediately scared the crap out of Sweetie Pie. Little did we know that bears wouldn't come within miles of us thanks to all the screaming Boo did.

I don't know what was up with her, but she didn't want to walk, she didn't want to be carried, she didn't want her shoes on, she didn't want to be barefoot, she just wanted to scream. I was the lucky one that got to hike with a tensed up, screaming 3 year old on my shoulders. Needless to say it was great family togetherness time... uh, kinda. I did manage to dangle my $1000 camera precariously from a piece of plywood over a rushing river and snap this rare family photo though, so at least I can pretend that we had the time of our lives.



*I just found this one, so I had to add it! Make sure you click to make it bigger so you can truly see how thrilled little Boo is to be hiking!



Please don't judge my white legs- it's been a LONG time since they've seen the sun. Speaking of that, right after our hiking adventure we headed out to my in-laws dug out lake and I wasted the afternoon away floating around on an inflatable raft. I didn't know until I got home that we stayed 4 hours too long... I'm going to miss that layer of skin! My sunburn is slowly healing, but I'm still sending keeping my bottle of aloe within reach at ALL times. Nothing feels as good as aloe on a sunburn!

So... yup, that's it. Clean. Apply aloe. Repeat.

When You're Up, You're Up

My kids did chores today... and asked for more! In the past I have underestimated what my kids can really do, and I'm guilty of giving them something stupid to do just so they feel like they're helping. It's hard to give up control since I'm such a control freak (when I actually get around to doing said chores)but they loved to help!

Sweetie Pie (6 1/2) helped me by putting away the folded laundry, making all the kids' beds and putting a few things in the play room. Little Man (5) swept off the front porch, brought all the dirty laundry from the hampers to the laundry room, and helped in the playroom. Boo (3) put all the shoes in the entryway on shelves, helped me vacuum the stairs, and wandered around the playroom pretending to be picking up.

I paid them a fake dollar for each chore and Sweetie Pie was begging for extra chores. MY KID. Asking to do more CLEANING. It was miraculous!

After we had our chores done we went outside and I mowed the lawn. It's been really rainy here so it was nice to get it done and let the kids run around for a bit. I was even motivated enough to tackle a tiny portion of our backyard that has NEVER been mowed. Literally never. I don't think I've sweat that hard in years... it was like pushing a stubborn rhinoceros through a corn field, or at least what I think that would be like.

It will take at least 4 more 'sessions' to get it mowed (by then I'll have to start over!) but I'm looking forward to the day when we can move our million white trash kids' toys back there and class up the neighborhood a bit.

If I was like this every day then I would be SO happy. My house is clean, my kids are happy, they didn't watch cartoons until quiet time, we played a board game, got some yard work done and I'm even fitting some craft time in. I hope this doesn't fade like the millions times before...

Being motivated really Works For Me!!

WTF!?

It's 10:30 am. My bed is made, my laundry is CAUGHT UP, the dishwasher only has breakfast dishes in it. My living room is vacuumed, and the carpets are STEAM CLEANED. The bathroom is bleached, the toothbrush cups are washed and put back. The mirrors are sparkling, the floors are mopped.

I made a huge decision over the weekend, and I can't tell if I'm cleaning because I feel better and am out of my 'funk' or if I feel worse and am cleaning as my natural response to stress. Either way, I kinda like it! Shh, don't tell anyone!!

Happy Birthday America!

Ahhh, the Fourth of July! The only time that I can buy nothing but junk food all at once and not be judged for my shopping since everyone just assumes all that crap MUST be for a BBQ or camping trip. I can (AND WILL) also eat pounds of potato salad just to celebrate, whether it decides to keep dumping rain or not. NOTHING gets between ME and my POTATO SALAD!

What are your plans for the 4th? What? Everyone's too cool doing fun things for the holiday and I'm the only person on the internet anymore!? Eh, maybe I'll make plans next year... maybe.

Dirty Little Secrets

Welcome to another rousing edition of my Dirty Little Secrets! Please share your own dirty little secrets in the comments either publicly or anonymously. I promise I won't tell anyone ;)

I've forgotten to take my garbage to the curb 2 weeks in a row.

I've been planning dinner at 5:30 every night.

My kids haven't had a bath or shower in 5 days.

I can't remember the last time I washed my sheets, but I DID get them in the wash this morning.

I not only left out ALL the dishes from dinner last night, but I left the milk out on the counter all night too. Luckily we had a new one in the fridge or else the cereal would have been awfully dry this morning!

My kids ate fast food A LOT this week.

I've been meaning to take new photos of the kids for some frames on the walls but I haven't because the kids need baths, and hair brushing, and clean clothes, and to not be fighting. So... I'll get that done right around never.

I've been avoiding cleaning off the same counter for weeks.

My playroom is still so trashed that my kids refuse to play in there so they're driving me FREAKING nuts!

What's your dirty little secret?

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