6 Bags In...

Okay, update on my 40 bags in 40 days.  I'm not stopping long enough to post pictures, but I am stopping long enough to eat lunch.  So, while I eat (and right at this moment, it's incredibly hot!), I will update.

I kind of hate the system I've done so far.  I've been like a room whore.  I'm jumping from room to room.  It's not neccessarily a bad thing, I just don't have that sense of accomplishment in one particular area of the house.  Good news is it still looks nice from the outside!  Because we cleaned a lot last weekend, it still looks good.  I'm just going through the stuff now.

Last night I embarked on a pretty big project (that didn't get done until midnight!).  But I don't want to share, because I haven't even told Whit yet! :)   He'll see this weekend.  I will say it's pretty awesome and I love it!!!  I also re-organized the piano books on my shelf last night.  This morning, I reorganized and cleaned out the pots and pans and found a solutions for the pan lids.  I used a basket for those (which I already had, thank you very much!).  I cleaned out all the kitchen drawers and got rid of some stuff I rarely use.  I also cleaned under the master bathroom sinks and our cologne shelf.  I got rid of cologne that we never wear (or scrunching hair gel that I got when I was a senior in high school... yeah.)

After lunch, my schedule leads me to the craft room, which has been on my groan list for many, many months.  It's almost too overwhelming.  But we'll start with the closet.  That way, if I run out of time (or get bored, frustrated or tired) I can move away from it without disrupting the beauty of a some-what cleaned room.

Here is a few pictures of my before...

40 Bags in 40 Days-- Day 1

One of my Facebook friends shared a Lent challenge called "40 Bags in 40 Days".  The idea behind is very basic.  You fill up 40 bags of trash or charitable items in 40 days.  It is supposed to be from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday.  You can choose the sizes of your bags-- I'm not really sure that's really the purpose. The main idea is to rid your house of clutter and trash and things you don't love or use.  

Yesterday, the appraiser came so I took half the day off.  Let me remind you the house has been cleaned before she came-- but now is the perfect time to de-clutter!  Because the house is so clean, it's easy to make the progress.  I simply clean out what I'm supposed to and it's magically still nice looking!  So, now the bathroom looks great inside the cabinets and out!  I think I'm going to paint in there this Spring Break as well.

Here is a little bit about the bathroom.  I guess I'm sharing my personal stuff too, but oh well!  We're all girls!

My drawer that I keep my hair stuff in, toothbrush/toothpaste and miscellaneous stuff... 

<---- Before

I put in two baskets.  The first (yellow) is for my hair stuff (pony-tail holders, brushes, combs)

The second (blue) is make up, tootbrush/toothpaste and contact cases.

<----   After  

Under the sink in the hallway bathroom.

<---- Before

<----   After  

The bottom drawer.  Lots of panty liners that McCoy likes to 

take out and scatter throughout the house.

<---- Before

<----   After  

In addition to the hallway bathroom, I also cleaned under the kitchen sink, cleared off the hallway linen closet's floor, got rid of some pool floaties, and cleaned out the piano bench.

I have before pictures to add, but didn't get around to taking the after, so I'll post those for another time.

Join Me in Spring Cleaning

In conjunction with February's focus: Budget and Bills, we looked into re-financing our house.  It's only been 3 years, so starting over wasn't a big deal.  We are more interested in saving money each month so we can pay off our loans and credit card debt.  If everything works out perfectly (fingers crossed) we will save nearly $250 a month!  Think of all we can do with that!

But we need to get the house appraised.  I asked several people on my Facebook status, how clean should it be and got several responses.  Some saying that it doesn't need to be that clean to repainting the baseboards!  So, Mom and Dad graciously took McCoy after church so Whit and I could "clean sweep" our house.  We got a lot done in a very short amount of time although I have to give props to Whit because his motivation and mad cleaning skills prevailed as I was whining and wanting to lay down around hour two.  Good job, Whit!

We did a lot to the house, but most of it was stuff that I just "put away" or found a spot for.  There are several areas of the house that really need some spring cleaning.

So I am extending an invitation to you!  Join me in a spring cleaning party!  I'll give you a plan for each week and then follow up on what I've accomplished (or failed to complete!).  Join me and we will get rid of clutter, clean dust and cobwebs, and enjoy living a more simple life.

I vow to get rid of stuff that I don't love or need.  I vow to clean out the "groanable" areas of my house and I will publish what they are so that I can be held accountable.  And yes, my car is a part of my house!  I don't have a deadline for this because I'm guessing it will go well into the summer months.

So here is my list (yes, a list!!!)
De-clutter:

Basement-- Computer room.  This room needs to be purged, really.  Too many books, computer stuff that I don't even know if it works, and little stuff that I've gathered throughout high school and college and the first few years of marriage.  I'm going to make that closet shine!  (As best I can).

Craft Room-- This one is tough one.  I'm thinking of getting rid of MOST of the stuff in this room and here is why.  This room is so cluttered that it will take years of throwing stuff away or donating it to get it cleared.  I want to eventually get rid of everything in here because it will most likely be our next child's bedroom.  And I want to do it before we starting trying so that when if I do get pregnant again, I won't be moving and scrambling around to get things done while I'm doing so many other things.  I want to move the table and craft stuff downstairs to the office.  That will take some figuring out though because as previously stated that room is cluttered too.  I have some stuff that I hate to give away simply because I either paid a lot of money for, or I made it.  Needless to say, the closet is stuffed full-- but at this point in time, you can walk through it, although it's tight!

My closet-- of course, getting rid of clothes I don't wear

Whit's closet-- of course, pulling teeth to get Whit to get rid of clothes he doesn't wear

Closet in hallway-- of course, getting rid of coats and *gasp* games we don't ever play!

Bathrooms-- this just needs to be purged as well-- mostly my stuff

Garage-- I feel like I just need to put this on here just because...

Van-- cleaning and getting rid of junk.

Speaking of cleaning cars (that is this month's focus), I have like four rubbermaids full of stuff that has been taken out of various cars.  Like from last summer.  I really need to de-clutter my car!

Okay, that's enough!

The Pit in Pictures

MARCH-- Clean out the car!
So in order for me to be held accountable, I am posting pictures of the Pit.  Embarrassing, you bet?  Motivating?  Even more!

Check back soon to see pictures of a fresh, newly cleaned, non-pitted out van!

The Pit

Yes, I'm referring to my car.

It's always been so dirty!  Not just the outside-- actually thankful for the rain we had on Sunday, the car is no longer dirty-dirty.  It's only partly dirty. :)

No, the inside.  It's horrid.  I claim I live out of my car.  And when I upgraded to a van this past summer, I vowed to keep this car clean!  My vow lasted all of five days.  And my excuse?  "Life happens."  "That's what you get when you have kid(s)."  "I am so busy."  "I don't want to use up my family time cleaning my car." BLAH, BLAH, BLAH!!!

FlyLady.net says you should clean out your car every Friday.  Friday is desginated to refreshed up the car, check the car seats, throw away empty soda cans and fast-food cups, and to clean out your purse.  Luckily for me, I haven't been carrying a purse for a while.  My purse is my diaper bag (or vice versa).

Here are some tricks I have done (very inconsistantly):

• Between the front two seats, using the hand rests, I have placed a Wal-mart/target bag to collect trash (Target bags are the best, they are thick!)
• Throw away loose trash every time I fill up with gas
• When going into a store or a building, throw some trash away

But right now I have in my car:

• Some of McCoy's dirty clothes
• at least two pairs of shoes (Mac)
• TOYS!  Too many toys!  My kid doesn't even need a toy while riding in the car.
• two cups from the KU Football game Whit and I went to in like November....
• Valentine's day candy
• receipts, receipts, receipts
• a wintery coat
• bed sheets
• baby wipes... lots
• notebooks
• binders
• paperwork
• programs from various piano stuff
• water bottles 

It's just plain pitted out.  I need to invest an afternoon and get it cleaned!  So, this month is dedicated to cleaning out my car and KEEPING IT THAT WAY!  And no, I'm not going to wait until March 31 to clean it out.  I'm going to do it soon.  Check back as I hope to have before and after pictures of The Pit.

HotSpots

I have FlyLady to thank again for this term.  HotSpots are places that collect crap.  No matter how much you clean, it's always dirty.  Unfortunately for me, I have like twenty.  I'm going to try and list them here.

• Kitchen counters
• Snack bar
• Kitchen table
• Couches
• Stairs
• Rocking chair in my bedroom
• Dresser
• Piano bench and top of the piano

That's a lot of HotSpots.  I will need to get rid of all the clutter first so that I can concentrate on keeping them clean and clear for the month of January (and hopefully the whole year-- if the plan works.)  And because I don't work well under pressure, I'm going to chose two HotSpots a day to clean them up.  It's really important that once they are clean, they stay clean.  Perhaps, I should start with the one that is less likely to continue being dirty-- like the stairs.  My worse area is the kitchen counters, snack bar and kitchen table.  Those things just can't stay clean.  Well, I'm sure with intention, they could stay clean. 

Again, another list-- call me the List-Making-Queen!!  (And apparently I'm also the queen of the ----- dash.)

Jan. 1-- Kitchen table and couches

Jan. 2-- Kitchen counters and rocking chair

Jan. 3-- Dresser and stairs

Jan, 4-- Piano area and snack bar

I'll tell you what, I'll cross them off when I complete it.  And just for some accountability, I'll also put the REAL date next to it. Haha!

And as I type this post, McCoy is taking ALL the paper out of the recycling bin.  Yup.

New Year, New Me

It’s seems every year I like to start fresh.  But maybe I should reconsider starting my new year in August when the school year begins.  It would be different but it would make more sense for my lifestyle. 

But as always, the new year chimes in, and I vow to myself and to my family that I’m going to keep my new year’s resolutions this year.  I tried something new last year, and it worked for about 6 months.  I listed 12 things that I wanted to change.  Every month, I was going to “add” on to my list, and become a better person.  So, the first month was be a better wife—the next, be a better finaical keeper, and so on.  As each month continued, I would be a better “whatever” while continue being a better “whatever”.  And let’s not forget about my 101 things to do in 1001 days!

The problem with my list from last year (2010) was that some of the things I was wanted to become better at, I already was better at.  (Not bragging or anything).  But how do you become a better mother when you’ve only been a mother for 8 months?  I am constantly becoming a better teacher, because I’m always seeking out new practices and changing my teaching styles.

So this year, I’m doing the same thing, but I’m going to try and branch out a little more.  I’m thinking more of lifestyle changes and not “be a better builder” (what the heck was I thinking?!)  So here is my new list:

January—Keeping “Hotspots” cleaned and clear

February—Better record keeping of our budget and bills

March—Keeping the car cleaned and clear

April—Cooking with whole foods and making more healthy choices, learn new techniques for the kitchen

May—taking better care of myself, get in better health

June—Plan for the holidays! (shop, make gifts, wrap gifts?)

July—organize and clean

August—organize at school

September—become a better Christian

October—read for pleasure more

November—plan family fun days for December

December—enjoy my life with family and friends

Yea, yea, yea.  I know.  Another list. 

In addition to this crazy “become a better Tenessa” list that I’ve created, I also have a to-do list that’s a bit more specific.  Would you like to see it?  Of course you would!  Plus, even if you don’t, I’m typing it here so I remember where it is!! :)

• Spend 1 hour a week cleaning a DE-CLUTTERING my house (areas specific—later)
• Clean and organize the basement—this would include getting rid of crap and getting rid of boxes!
• Fixing the floor in the attic so we can store more CRAP up there.  Actually most of what I want to store is baby clothes and baby items.  I’m scared that by the time we actually get to the attic floor, I’ll be ready to have another baby! :)
• Start and KEEP up with Photo 365 for a FULL YEAR!  (read my other blog site for more information!!)
• eat less meat (thanks, Suzie)
• Read the Bible in a year

Okay, what’s your new year’s resolutions!?

July's Better ME

What was I thinking?!? I can't do this!  Become a Better Builder?  I don't even know what I wanted to build.  Maybe that tote rack that I was wanting to build and mentioned in the previous post... but let's face it, I don't have time this month!

So, can I skip this one?  Why am I asking your permission?  I don't even know who you are!  So, being that I'm in charge... I'm skipping this one.  Sorry, fellas.  Next one is August-- Become a better musician.  That I can do.

101 Things in 1001 Days (Update III)

Just an update on my ginormous list... I have completed many more tasks. I just wanted to repost my list to show that I am still doing it all.


The Mission: Complete 101 preset tasks in 1001 days
Start Date: August 2, 2009
End Date: April 29, 2012

House:
1. Organize the master room closet
2. Organize the baby’s closet
3. Move stuff back into the basement
4. Install doors and trim in basement
5. Organize the Tubberware cabinet
6. Buy new pots and pans (Paula Dean)
7. Wallpaper master bathroom
8. Paint hallway bathroom and hang up mural
9. Keep the kitchen clean
10. Replace all burnt out light bulbs
11. Organize under the sink in the master bathroom
12. Clean out refrigerator once a month
13. Clean out the pantry
14. Donate old coats/jackets to Project Warmth
15. Organize drawers in kitchen
16. Re-organize red shelf in dining room
17. Clean out storage under stairs
18. Reorganize seasonal decorations (I did this, but still not happy... I want to make this tote rack for the garage)
19. Get new tires (Elantra)
20. Keep car clean for at least a month (clean it first!)
21. Plant trees

Hobbies:
22. Finish wedding scrapbook
23. Make homemade birthday cards
24. Scrapbook for the baby
25. Sew (by myself) baby’s Halloween costume
26. Finish Whit’s stocking
27. Decorate the fireplace mantel
28. Make homemade Christmas gifts
29. Learn to pickle cucumbers
30. Learn to sew a zipper
31. Take a photography class
32. Take a cake decorating class
33. Start and finish baby’s Christmas stocking

Personal Enrichment:
34. Get a new hairstyle
35. Start photography 365
36. Keep a blog
37. Use the library more
38. Send birthday cards to every family member
39. Start/continue to use reusable shopping bags every time
40. Send Christmas treats to families
41. Make a compost pile
42. Make a rain barrel
43. Join a church
44. Frame Whit and Tenessa’s baby pictures and hang them in the hallway
45. Start Master’s Degree
46. Take Level II Orff Training
47. Read Chronicals of Narina

Entertainment:48. Attend a local festival
49. Go to a pumpkin patch
50. Organize a Progressive Dinner
51. Have a fondue party
52. Go to a wine tasting party
53. Go to a dinner theater
54. Go on a picnic
55. Take a nature walk with Whit and baby

Baby:
56. Join a “story time” with baby
57. Buy an Air Purifier
58. Make baby food and freeze
59. Cloth diaper at least part time
60. Teach baby sign language
61. Read the Bradley Book
62. Give birth naturally (sort of!)

Music:63. Learn to play a difficult piece on the piano
64. Practice piano at least once a week
65. Keep better records for piano lessons
66. Start hand bells/chimes at school
67. Log all piano books and put them in order
68. Paint piano drawers

Wellness:69. Don’t go out to eat for a week
70. Don’t go out to eat for two weeks
71. Don’t go out to eat for a month
72. Drink only one soda a week for at least a month
73. Walk at least three times per week
74. Lose 25 pounds
75. Take trips to the park weekly (when baby is born and weather is nice)
76. Use up all shower gels and lotions before buying new
77. Participate in a Benefits walk

Cooking/Baking:78. Make a dinner plan for the month
79. Bake a pie from scratch
80. Decorate baby’s 1st Birthday cake
81. Cook less from a box or frozen bag
82. Bake a cake from scratch
83. Use the cookbooks more
84. Use the vegetables from the garden to cook

Financial:85. Pay off at least three credit cards
86. Pay off at least half of student loan (as of September 2009)
87. Keep a log of gas spending for four months
88. Get all bills automatically taken from bank
89. Start using coupons
90. Sell books on Amazon.com
91. Read Dave Ramsey’s book/information
92. Make a savings plan and stick to it
93. Borrow items from friends and family instead of insisting on buying new
94. Buy a camera
95. Pay off the Yaris
96. Have a yard sale
97. Start an IRA or CD type of savings

Travel:98. Plan a summer vacation
99. Stay at a Bed and Breakfast
100. Go camping with baby
101. Use the cabin at the lake five times

The Projects

It seems that I always try and do something while on summer holiday.  I love the fact that I can devote 8 weeks to something for me.  Of course, I realize how much harder it is with a baby, but nonetheless, I have chosen a project to devote my summer to.  My devotion: cleaning my house.  Yes, that's right... cleaning my house.  I'm not just talking about the occasional pick up the toys, papers and trash... I mean, clean.  To do this, I sought the advice of the FlyLady, which I've blogged about previously.

Her program is very simple, although it is very confusing at the beginning.  I have taken things from her program and adapted them to my own lifestyle.  For example, I have more staminia then just 15 minutes a day, so I decided to tackle two rooms at 15 minutes a day.  Sounds like nothing, right?  But each day, it adds up... quickly.  And I don't feel like I have wasted my whole day cleaning.

My favorite love/hate room is the kitchen.  It just seems like crap collects and NEVER leaves this room.  When I started the program, we were in Zone 2: the Kitchen.  When I read this, I was relieved.  Perfect.  I can tackle my monster right away.  But of course, it still needs work.  Just because each week is spent focusing on a different zone, you still have to keep it up!  Here is the plan-- de-clutter (aka clean) for 15 minutes, then do Kelly's mission of the day.  Last week in the kitchen was: Monday-- wipe the tops of the cabinets, and clean the top of the fridge (YUCK!!), Tuesday-- wipe all the fronts of the cabinet doors,  Wednesday-- clean out the fridge and throw away expired and leftover foods (ahem, yucky!), Thursday-- SCRUB the countertops (including what's underneath them, aka the toaster, the breadbox, etc), and Friday-- sweep and mop the kitchen floor.  My kitchen looks IMMACULATE!  (well, I didn't do the snack bar, but hey, 15 minutes a day can't get you everywhere!!!)

I feel a sense of pride having stuck with her plan for the week.  I did it!  And even Whit noticed, which is saying a lot.  This week we are in Zone 3-- Bathrooms and One Extra Bedroom (I'm doing McCoy's room and dun, dun, dun.... the Craft Room).  I'm hoping that Whit will notice and be uber excited for me!

I'm also using Cozi to help me CROSS it off!  My life is all about cleaning right now... so you better put that plate in the dishwasher folks!!!

June: Be a Better Gardener

Junes is dedicated to gardening! This has become one of my many passions in the last couple of years. When "being green" was starting to become a popular idea, I got into growing my own veggies. I think that's where it all started. My parents have always grown tomatoes and various spices. It's made me want to garden as well.

Last year, Whit built me a garden on the side of our fence. It's nothing big and spectacular; it's just right (for now!). Our first year, we planted several zucchini squash plants, plump tomatoes, grape tomatoes, several cucumber plants, green beans, and carrots. I learned a lot from that first year. I learned that even though pesticides are not healthy for you, bugs will ruin your food! So, maybe a little bit is okay? I also learned that one zucchini plant should do it. The carrots really should be left alone for the 70 days or so... picking them too early gives you little fetus carrots that are not good for anything!

This year, I've learned a lot already. For example, DON'T plant too early. Otherwise they will die. And that's what happened to our loot of veggies. The only thing that has still survived so far is our peas. So, this year, we are starting over. This is what we are growing:

• Zucchini squash (1)
• Green beans (a lot!!)
• Tomatoes
• Carrots
• Cucumbers
• Peas
• Jalapeño peppers
• Green bell peppers
• Cilantro
• Basil
• Oregano
• Lavender

In case you are wondering, we are planning to make our own salsa! (Not for canning or freezing or anything crazy like that... just for our occasion summer dinners).

So, I better get to it. Here it is, June 8 and the only thing that is surviving out there is my peas. Here's to Tuesday's To Do list: Plant seeds!!!

I Think I'm In Love

I think I'm in love. With FlyLady.net. Yes, it's a cyber-person. I am in love with someone I've never met, never seen, and never talked to. But she/he is my hero.

This is right up my alley. Lists upon lists, schedules upon schedules, and cleaning to perfection to the nth degree. This is my new cleaning life. I just hope that I'm this hyped up about FlyLady in about... two weeks. So far, I've done everything I'm supposed to do (according to who??) for the first three days.

I've:

Shined my sink (even used an old toothbrush to clean around the faucets!)
Got dressed to my shoes (even though I did this before I met her)
Laid out my clothes for the next day
Did my before bedtime routine (this includes, laying out the clothes, brushing my teeth, shining my sink, and getting McCoy's bags ready for the next day)
Did my morning routine (this includes-- putting washed dishes away, getting dressed to the shoes, shower and clean the bathroom while you're in there)

Wow. This doesn't even sound like a whole lot, but as my best friend- FlyLady always says, "Baby steps! Baby steps!" I love her. She is the greatest.

I will be going to bed soon. Of course, after I finish my "before bedtime routine". Tonight, I'm throwing in a Hot Spot Cleanse (only 2 minutes! That's it!) I'm going to like this... especially if I can keep it up.

Go Tenessa! It's your birthday! You Rock! Go Tenessa! (doing the arm circle movement with fists clenched tightly... you know the one I'm talking about!!)

Poof! Probably in like twenty years I'll have a clean house (at this rate!!!)

Baby Food

So far, we've had:

Cereal
Oatmeal
Sweet Potatoes
Avocado
Green Beans
Bananas
Carrots
Acorn Squash

I've also tried mixing several things together.  Of course, I've added cereal to almost anything that appeared too runny.  But I've also done:
Avocado and Bananas
Acorn Squash and Sweet Potatoes

I plan on trying:
Apple and Pear with Cinnamon
Trio of Root Vegetables (sweet potato, carrots, parsnip)
Butternut squash with orange juice
Sweet Potato and Broccoli
Mango and Bananas
Prunes!

This afternoon, I bought five apples and five pears.  I plan on introducing those fruits in the next couple of weeks.  Then the fun really begins!  I can start adding fruit to almost everything.  I can't wait to use more recipes from "Top 100 Baby Purees" by Annabel Karmel.  They look like so much fun!

Here are a few that I can't wait to make (during the summertime when I have a little more time):
Rutabaga, Carrot, and Peas
See-In-The-Dark Puree (onion, carrots, chicken stock and orange juice)
Potato, Summer Squash and Peas
Cinderella's Pumpkin (with leek, chicken stock)
Sweet Potato with spinach and peas
Chicken with sweet potato and apple
several fruit purees (ex. banana with apples, cantaloupe and strawberry, banana, avocado and yogurt, banana and tofu (I know!), mango and yogurt, banana and pear)
Peach and banana
Apple, strawberry and peach
Easy One Pot Chicken (with leek, chicken breast, carrot, sweet potato, chicken stock)
Tomato, cauliflower, and carrot with basil

The list goes on and on.  I just love cooking for my baby.  It's so much fun!!

Almost April

April's "Be a Better Me" is all about teaching. It's appropriate because it's almost the end of the year. About this time of the year, I begin to keep my eye on the prize-- summertime. But that's really not the prize. The real prize is the amount of growth each student has made since the beginning of the year. In music class, it's about instilling the love and appreciation for the art and understanding how it relates to their lives. The prize is about the students-- not about me. So April is dedicated to becoming a better teacher.

Here is a list of things I need to do in order to improve my teaching (of course, this list is predominantly endless, every teacher can improve on their teaching-- this is just a simple "rough draft"):
1. organize better (CLEAN THAT DESK!)
2. plan (find a better lesson plan layout and implement next year!)
3. communication skills (including parents.... scary!!)
4. hold students accountable
5. use active learning (well, duh! This is quite easy in music class)
6. get kids motivated (band and choir could use some attention in this area-- the little kiddos, not so much!)
7. take courses to better my understanding (planning on taking Orff Level II this summer at Baker for graduate credit!)

I was going to try and make a list of ten, but I can't think of more. I'll list more as I think of them.

My first number to tackle is of course, number 1! I need to clean! I took mom's little handheld vacuum cleaner to school so I can clean out all the instruments. They are so dusty! They should call my room the Dust Bowl! I already took them all off the top of the shelf and windex'ed that nice and clean. I'm just working on the insides of the shelves. I want to get it nice and organized while I'm cleaning. The Sopranos on the top, altos in the middles shelves and of course, the basses on the bottom. This will make it easier to teach different sizes. I also need to COMPLETELY strip aways EVERYTHING on my desk, and basically start new. There are so many dust bunnies on my desk, it's making me sneeze! Piles and piles of papers and things that DON'T BELONG there! Becoming more organized and clean is one of the first steps!

I will try and take before and after pictures so you can see the progress (and by you, I mean cyber world... since I have no idea who actually reads this blog!).

Planning-- it takes time, and I feel like I'm out of the loop since I missed October, November and December. I have already done better with lesson plans and actually following them. Sometimes I mess up and decide I don't want to do a certain activity with a grade level, but for the most part I will plan better.

I have the best job in the world! I work with teachers who care, students who are respectable and accountable and a building that has technology that is out of this world. I will improve!





****These are pictures that I took at the beginning of the school year. They should not be considered when looking at before and after photos.****

Happy 5 Months, McCoy!

Today McCoy is 5 months old!

In reference to my previous post, I decided to be ready with food for McCoy. Looking through my two baby puree books, I read the complete first chapters of each book. I learned that food can be frozen for about six weeks (or 3 months according to some websites). So, I had to go to the store anyhow, why not pick up some organic carrots?

I got a package of about six organic carrots for $.99. I strolled to the baby food asile to see how much carrots were. According to Amazon.com, there is a 8 pack of baby food (in the plastic containers) that basically cost $.61 per oz. But if I did the math right, I have 14 oz of pureed carrots, and now I just made that for $.07 an oz!! And I have about 7 settings of carrots ready to go! I also bought avocado (according to my book, it says that avocados are not recommended for freezing, but I looked it up online and it says it is totally fine!). So tomorrow, I will mash up some avocado and freeze that as well.

I'm not sure if this falls under the "become a better finaical keeper" or "become a better mother" or both!

Preparing to Boil the Carrots


Getting Ready to Puree the Carrots


Pureed!


Into Freezer Cubes The Carrots Go!! (This is a Beaba Freezer Tray that I bought at the Here We Grow Again sale in the fall-- I think I paid $7.00!)

Been Awhile

Four out of five people who make New Year’s resolutions tonight will eventually break them. In fact, a third won’t even make it to the end of January. Resoulations

Well, I guess that's me. February was "become a better financial keeper" and although I did a pretty good job of this, most of what I did was a continuation from before. I tried to read a book about coupon-shopping but it wasn't any different from before. Bills are still being paid, coupons are still being used, one credit card was paid off completely, "what's the cost.com" was still being utilized-- a savings plan was not put in place.

Now March is a whole other subject. "Become in better health"-- I vowed on March 1st to stop ALL chocolate intake. That lasted for about a day. Maybe just a half of a day. I know. Why couldn't I do it? I found myself telling myself I was going through wtihdrawals, that I HAD to have some. I found myself eating it in excess because I needed it so badly. But, I am not doing all that bad-- I have been eating Smart Ones every day for lunch, drinking more water and making healthier choices for snacks and dinners. I have been eating sugar free cookies (because I have to have something sweet), and drinking less Dr. Pepper. I can't just stop everything. That's unrealistic and frankly, it's my life and I don't want to!!

In other news: McCoy is rolling over! A lot!



McCoy got an exersaucer from Grandpa and MeMa Schale. McCoy loves it! Although we are still a bit wobbly! Dr. Yu said it was time to start his exercises with one of these things. They are so expensive! So I was waiting until Suzie and I went to the Here We Grow Again sale coming up in the next week. But grandparents beat me to the punch... as always.



When I'm not stalking various people on Facebook, my new obsession has become cooking "freezer pleasers". These are recipes from Taste of Home that are made to freeze. So far I have made 4 dishes. I have so many ready-to-eat healthy meals in the freezer right now, that I don't have many more dishes for cooking! I should go out and buy those tin-foil pans.

Well, that's about it for now. I promise to try and update more.

Whit and I Have a Date!

Tomorrow.

A lovely phone call from "BOE FT.LVN" (according to my cell phone)

An awesome text from KCTV 5.

We are out of school tomorrow due to "inclement weather."

YEA! A snow day!

Oh great. That's right. I told Whit if we didn't have school tomorrow, we would clean the house... top to bottom.

Okay, bring it on! I'm ready!

Here's what we/I plan on doing tomorrow:

**General Cleaning**
1. start/finish the laundry
2. pack up the decorations on the mantel (I'm not going to say WHAT the decorations are of... I'll leave that up to your imagination.)
3. vacuum stairs
4. sweep/mop entry ways
5. take down wreath from the window above the stairs

**Living Room**
1. piano area
2. pick up
3. dust
4. vacuum living room and hallways
5. organize bookshelf
6. hallway bathroom
a. shower/tub
b. toilet
c. sweep/mop
d. counters
e. mirror
f. under the sink
g. McCoy's tub
h. trash

**Master Bedroom**
1. put clothes away
2. clean the dresser
3. clean the closet
4. vacuum
5. bathroom
a. shower
b. toilet
c. sweep/mop
d. counters
e. mirror
f. under the sink
h. trash

**Kitchen**
1. dishes
2. clean off table
3. sweep/mop
4. clean off counters
5. put away Christmas/winter dishes
6. go through magazines
7. put recycling downstairs
8. water plants
9. replace light bulbs

**McCoy's Room**
1. put clothes away
2. clean out crib
3. sort out closet/clothes
4. dust
5. vacuum

**Basement**
1. empty boxes from office
2. put some school stuff in the trunk of my car (to take to school)
3. dust
4. put up mattress (eh, maybe...)
5. vacuum
6. pick up
7. trash (laundry room trash and recycling)

**Craft Room**
1. pick up... (we may run out of time... this is a HUGE undertaking!)
2. vacuum
3. organize craft supplies

Diapers

February is dedicated to saving money/becoming a better financial keeper. Today, I did the ultimate: I stuck McCoy's butt in cloth diapers! I have been planning on using cloth for a while now (before McCoy was even conceived!) but I haven't made the switch yet. I can't keep up with the laundry just yet, I will wait to do that in the summer. But Whit's cousins, Alexis and Jess gave us a box of G-Diapers (sized medium). I have to use them before he grows out of that size. So I stuck his little tush in them today and smiled a great big smile! Yea, I made the switch. I will probably continue to use g-diapers for now, until summer time. Then I'm hoping to make the switch permanently. I can do it!

Pictures coming soon!

Grocery Shopping Feb. 2010

Today I saved $40.36 in coupons. How's that for "be a better financial keeper"?

After-Action-Report

After-Action-Report for January.

January was "be a better wife". Did I succeed? You bet!



Although this is something that will always need work, I feel like I got on the right track. I became more interested in what Whit was saying, actually listened to him speak. I asked questions and suggested things to do together, as a couple and as a family. It made me feel closer to him and more connected. We shared many dinners together and enjoyed watching Lost nearly every night. I see us laughing more and hugging more. We kiss on a daily basis, and seem to get along better. I think if we are both conscious about the things that need to be done as a part of this family, we will continue to be close to one another. I enjoyed thinking about him all day and plan to continue for the rest of my life. Sometimes I get shaken up a bit and need to remind myself that we are in this together and he needs me just as much as I need him.

February: "Become a better financial keeper"



I will read books on how to cut my grocery bills, try not to eat out as much, take better records of things like gas for the cars, extra expenses, groceries, and bills. I will look closely to making a budget and create a savings plan. I will also track ways to get out of debt and set a goal for completely becoming out of debt (excluding the mortgage payment, student loan and new car (?) payments). All credit card debt will fall under this goal. I will explore ways to track/record expenses.

Welcome, February! I'm excited to see you! Budget and fiances are ready to be conquered!