Happy Homemaker #3

As I look outside my window:::

I am reminded that it is very hot outside. It is beautiful, but it is 83 degrees. What happened to Spring?!?!

Right now I am:::

Resting from cleaning all morning. We just got back from Vacation and my house is a DISASTER area. I finished Paul's room and have been continually working here and there on the others.

Thinking and pondering::: 

How nice our vacation was. I really needed the rest and relaxation. It helped me to come home and feel rejuvenated and ready to tackle my everyday homemaking duties. It's wonderful to step away from my homemaking work and come back with a new, positive attitude!

On my bedside table:::

There isn't much on there. I've been trying to get my house cleaned up so I can work on some other things. I need to be cleaning now, so I can get to some weekly meal planning and such.
 

Listening to:::

The window unit air-conditioner. Also, Robert playing in his room. I've been trying for 2 hours to get him to take a nap. I hear things falling to the floor in his room.


On the menu for this week:::

I have no idea. I need to do my meal planning. We have leftovers from where I cooked lunch yesterday for Mother's day. Those are going to last us for a couple of lunches. Then I need to figure out what I am going to make for dinner. One night we will have breakfast food since I already have the ingredients for homemade biscuits, eggs, and some bacon.

On my to do list:::

Finish cleaning the living room and kitchen (TODAY)
Work on Paul's baby album and finish it before Saturday.
Bake brownies for Paul's birthday party.
Clean our bedroom.
Clean up and organize the basement.
   

Happening this week:::

 A lot of cleaning, planning, and organizing!

What I am sewing, crocheting, knitting or creating:::

I am going to be working on Paul's baby album and work on our family 2014 Project life album.

My simple pleasure:::

Being home with my family. I really enjoyed being at the beach. There is just something about the feeling of being home that you can't replace.

 Homemaking tips:::

When you are overwhelmed, tackle ONE room at a time. I am preaching to myself... I get so overwhelmed by all the things I need to get done that I run around like a mad woman not getting anything done. I do much better when I focus on thoroughly cleaning one room and then moving on.

Looking around the house:::

I see a mess. A mess of toys and clothes. It is a beautiful mess, because it is a reminder of the wonderful memories we made the last two weeks.

From the camera:::

Bible verse, Devotional:::  

An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels. She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: Proverbs 31:10, 27-28

Happy Homemaker Monday #2

Today is the last day I have before we leave for our 11 day beach vacation! It's going to be a busy day!

As I look outside my window:::

The sky is cloudy, as we are expecting some rain tonight. It is beautiful with the pink hue of the sun coming up. Such a beautiful reminder of God's creation.

Right now I am:::

About to bake some cornbread. It is going to get hot this afternoon and I don't want to turn my oven on in the heat of the day. The boys are still sleeping, and I wanted to get my blogging and cooking done before they are under my feet. 

Thinking and pondering::: 

All the things that I need to be getting done today. We have to pack for a long trip, and I'm cooking for Monday for the Master tonight. I also have to get my bathrooms cleaned, I really don't like coming home to a dirty house from vacation. I've got a long to-do list today to get the house in decent order before we leave. 

On my bedside table:::

I just finished reading the first four books in the "Love comes softly" series by Jeanette Oke. I'm looking forward to the next few books on my vacation!
 

Listening to:::

The quietness of the house. The fish tank's water is making a beautiful waterfall sound.
 

On the menu for this week:::

Beans and cornbread tonight, then the rest of this week we will be in a condo in Gulf Shores. I'm looking forward to all the yummy food!

 

On my to do list:::

Too much to list for today..
   

Happening this week:::

 

We are beach bound early in the morning! I can't wait!!

What I am sewing, crocheting, knitting or creating:::

Nothing this week. Working on creating memories.

My simple pleasure:::

This week will be the sound of the waves and the sand between my toes.

 

 Homemaking tips:::

Deep clean your bathrooms once a week. Wipe down the counters at least every other day. But do a good scrub down at least once a week. Trust me, it's worth it.

Looking around the house:::

Is reminding me that I have A LOT to do today.
 
From the camera:::

This was taken on my Daddy's phone. That is me holding the most beautiful nephew in the universe right there. He was just born about an hour and a half before this picture. I love this baby boy so much. I would go grab him the moon and bring it down to him if I could reach it. He is such a joy. I love him! Does anyone else feel this way about their niece/nephew??

Bible verse, Devotional:::  

  This week I want to focus on Proverbs 31. I've gotten a little sidetracked in my housekeeping this past week and I need some encouragement. I know that a vacation from it will bring a wonderful and new perspective, but I want to focus on how God would have me glorify Him in my home.

Happy Homemaker Monday

I've been wanting to join in on this Happy Homemaker Monday's for awhile. I follow a blog and ran across a couple of homemaking blogs that do a blog hop with Happy Homemaker Monday.
I don't plan on joining the blog hop, but just hope to get down my Homemaking thoughts on Monday.
I thought it would be fun, and neat to look back later on.
Here's to new traditions! :)

As I look outside my window:::

The weather outside is absolutely beautiful. It is 2:30 in the afternoon. The sun is shining, the grass is green, and it is beautiful outside. I enjoyed playing outside this morning before lunch with the boys.

Right now I am::: 
 
Drinking my second cup of coffee. I forgot to make coffee this morning (I'm not sure what that was all about). So I brewed me a pot with my lunch, and I'm enjoying my coffee and the peace and quiet. Both boys are napping and I am enjoying the quiet. Robert's had a hard day today and this Mama needed some quiet rest time.

Thinking and pondering:::
 
Babies. My cousin just had a new baby boy early Sunday morning and my sister-in-law is due any day now with a new baby. Holding that sweet baby boy yesterday made me miss my babies being tiny. I'm starting to get the baby fever...

On my bedside table:::
 
My planner. I try to get my to-do list together on Sundays before the week starts. It helps me to write down my goals for the week so that they are fresh on my mind. This week is going to be a busy one. We have a 1st birthday party coming up as soon as we get back from our 10-day vacation. We leave next week and I've got LOTS to do before then!

On my tv tonight:::

We have a small tv in the living room. We use it to view movies. The movie in now I believe is "Chuggington." Robert loves it. We just don't watch many movies. We usually only watch tv for family movie night.

Listening to:::
 
The window unit air conditioning.

On the menu for this week:::

Chicken and rice, dried pinto beans (bean burritos), dried black beans and rice, chicken and quinoa mac and cheese. We're trying to eat up what is in the fridge, pantry and freezer before our trip. I want to get out fridge deep cleaned before we leave.

On my to do list:::
 
Laundry

Switching out all Paul's 9 month clothes for his 12 months clothes.

Birthday party invitations

Deep clean living room carpets

Deep clean fridge

Work on packing list

Finalize grocery list for our beach trip

Get tag renewal for van (My birthday will be while we are on our trip and I need it)

Happening this week:::
 
  MFTM tonight and Mama's birthday is Saturday.

What I am sewing, crocheting, knitting or creating:::

I just finished my very first apron! I love it. I don't plan on crafting anything this week. I need to get caught up on Project life. I'm ordering my pictures tomorrow, and will probably have to work on it after our vacation!

My simple pleasure:::

Coffee. And lots of it.

 

 Homemaking tips:::

One load of laundry a day. Wash, dry, fold, put away. It never fails that if I go one day without doing a complete load, I get behind. Then Mt. Everest of laundry attacks my bedroom and I get overwhelmed... leaving it to only get worse...

Looking around the house:::
 
I need to clean up from lunch. I had to get the boys to lay down right after lunch. Robert will only sleep if I lie down with him. So, I left our PB&J mess on the table. There are also toys scattered along the living room floor that need to be returned to their proper home.
 
From the camera:::

This is from our Saturday ladies breakfast a few weeks ago. I had a great breakfast with some fabulous ladies!

Bible verse, Devotional:::  

  "Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.”  ESV -1 Corinthians 15:33
This verse will be my focus this week. It is Robert's memory verse for Bible class. I was so proud when he said his memory verse last week. I look forward to hearing him quote many Bible passages.


Hope you have a great week! 

Easter and a few more.

Phone

I am trying out a new way to post. I am using a blogger app on my ( new to me) iPhone. 

I haven't blogged much lately, and I'm really missing it.

I wanted to share a few things Robert has been saying/doing lately that are so cute. 

The other night I made some Asian chicken thighs and steamed cabbage. Robert was so funny! His Daddy told him to eat his food. He replied " I don't like it" and pointed to his cabbage. He was so funny.

Now when he gets a spanking, which is actually becoming rare these days (yay!), he is saying "you hurt me". Which then makes me want to laugh. 

He is just growing so fast!!

He has learned to count to five with objects. He has been able to count to 10 for awhile... But now he lines up all his cars, animals, food, etc.. And counts it. It is so sweet. Now, just have to keep working on him with the alphabet.

His vocabulary is growing everyday!! It's always fun to hear what new thing he is going to say.

He's starting to grow out of nap time. He will usually go to sleep for a nap whenever I lay down with him. (Which is actually what I am doing as I type... He's just starting to snore and I'm hoping to sneak out and get some housework done). He always says, "mama lay down in this bed." 

Who can resist that??? The dirty house can wait a little longer. He is going to be grown soon and not want his Mama around.

I enjoy a clean house, but I have to remind myself that my children are growing too quickly. I want to cherish these years while they are still young and love me :) 

Robert is such a big helper. He is always helping me clean, and playing with Paul. 

I just love to catch them together playing

Well I think he is asleep enough for me to sneak out and get some cleaning done.

Until next time,

Me

In a long while

It's been awhile since I have blogged.
I believe I mentioned before that I was feeling like I was over-documenting life.
I've slowed down some.
I just haven't felt motivated to blog.
I need to blog, because I LOVE going back and reading these posts and seeing all my emotions as I was going through a particular season in life.

This season of our life is a little something I would like to call potty training.
We have been working on Robert.
I have to say that he is doing MUCH better than I expected.
He is going with very few accidents.

I hope it's going to continue to be easy.

I guess it's hard on me because it makes me realize how little patience I actually have....
In this past week I have spent much time in prayer asking for forgiveness for losing my patience and just as much telling how sorry I am to my family that my patience is worn thin.
I've also learned that I'm MUCH happier if I have a clean, organized house when taking on a new task.
I already knew this.
I just have to remind myself of that when I let the laundry fall behind or the dusting really pile up.
It's then that I start to feel overwhelmed.
I have been so blessed to be a wife/mother and homemaker.
I just have to remember to keep up with the daily responsibilities.

 Paul's first time playing in his car. He LOVED honking the horn on it.

 The Lord has blessed me so richly. We have enough money to live in a nice house, eat delicious food, and not have to worry if we are going to be able to eat our next meal. I think sometimes it's easy to take these things for granted in pursuit of more. We always want more. A nice new car, when ours runs fine and is paid off. New clothes that are up with the new trend, when ours don't have any holes or stains on them. A bigger house, when we already have too many things and feel overwhelmed with the amount of things we own. A fancy dinner in a restaurant, when we have ample food and time to prepare and eat a meal that is probably even better at home. I have to take a step back and realize how blessed I am. I thank the Lord everyday for my blessings, but it's easy to forget just how many blessings there are.

 Someone got into his Mama's fingernail polish. He managed to ruin his little brother's only baby quilt and the couch cushion. I will let you guess who that could be....

 Robert LOVES our vacuum. He plays with it pretty much on a daily basis... This is him actually vacuuming the floor. He loves it. I really want to find him a child-sized vacuum that actually works. He would love it! I would too, it would mean a mostly clean floor that I didn't have to vacuum myself.

 I found Paul playing with his tractor by Robert's barn. It is amazing how much this child plays by himself. It makes me a little sad sometimes. He is so independent. He doesn't need to be held anymore. He prefers to be playing on his own. He figures everything out so quickly. This Mama is having some withdrawal issues. He is still extremely cuddly when you get to hold him. He is just so busy and into everything. He loves playing with his brother. I can't believe how quickly he transformed from a little baby that needed to be held 24/7 to this chunky-face little boy that loves exploring the world around him. I just can't believe he will be one year old in a little over 2 months.... Where does the time go?!?!

 This was supposed to be a sneaky shot. I was trying to get them playing without seeing me... But Robert noticed. I just love that he is wanting to smile for the camera recently.

I was in my room folding laundry and I heard Robert naming off the people in our family. I came to the living room to find he had gotten Paul's project life baby book. It melted my heart to see him flipping through the pages and looking through the book. He loved it. It was a great reminder as to why I scrapbook. I want to leave a memory for my family. Yes,  mostly I want to have memories for myself. But I know that if the scrapbooks survive they will be great memories for my children. I am so thankful that I had a sweet cousin who introduced me to this type of scrap-booking that I am in love with. I believe my family will always benefit from this.

We have been trying to be more hospitable this year.

We want to open our home to those we love so that we will be comfortable to open our home to those we don't know as well.

I'm off to go prepare dinner and my home for our next dinner guests.

Maybe I will blog again soon.

This was very therapeutic for me.

Until next time, I hope the Lord blesses you and that you are well.

Smitten

I have been blessed the last few days to get some "thinking" things accomplished.
It's difficult sometimes when I have a two year old and an 8 month old always needing something from me to keep my train of thought on what I'm working on.

The past few days have been so nice.
In the mornings the boys have been wandering all over the house together and just playing for hours.
I have caught Robert reading to Paul many times.
I see them sharing with each other.
It melts this Mama's heart to see them playing and getting along so well.
I hope they always want to play together and be around each other.

 I believe their favorite thing to do is make a mess together! You should see my house right now!

I am cherishing these moments.
I know my babies will grow up all too soon.
I'm going to continue to try to keep my schedule to a minimum and spend as much time nurturing my boys as I can.