Just a real quick post to say that this past week went so much better than the first week. I loved coming home knowing that dinner was almost done before I even got in the door. What's better? I still have some stuff in the freezer to use for this week.

I'm turning back to my trusty Flylady Control Journal to try to get a handle on chores and such. If you have never heard of Flylady, you should check out her site. If you have never tried her system, I highly recommend it. It completely changed the way I take care of my house. I have a "Control Journal" with all of our routines and chores in writing (typing).

Here's how it is broken down...this is all on her site and she does a much better job of explaining it:

• Before Bed Routine
• Morning Routine
• Afternoon Routine (things we do right when we get home)
• Late Afternoon Routine(what we do after homework is done)
• Evening Routine (begins approx 6:30, when we eat dinner)



• Weekly Home Blessing Hour List (the only time the whole week that you spend more than 15 minutes at a time cleaning)
• Weekly Checklist (Those things that need to be done every week ie. Mop, Vacuum, Refrigerator,Dust, etc.)
• Basic Weekly Plan (This is a plan that outlines on what days I will take care of the chores on the Weekly Checklist)

Then your home is broken down into Zones for all the monthly detailed cleaning (baseboards, window sills, tops of door facings, top of fridge, etc.) You then take one zone per week and do your detailed cleaning(never for more than 15 minutes at a time).

For example, Zone 1 is the Entrance and Office. Some things I have listed on my detailed cleaning list are:

1. Dust tops of door facings
   
2. Clean Switch plates
   
3. Clean baseboards
   
4. Wipe down door
   
5. Clean computer monitor screen
   
6. Clean Window
   
7. Shred papers that need to be shredded
   
8. ETC.

At the end of the month, your house is spotless and gorgeous.....ideally.

I haven't ever gotten EVERYTHING done on my list...but a little is better than nothing. And I keep my papers in sheet protectors and check off the items I did complete with a dry erase marker. The chores that didn't get checked off are the first to be done next month.

I wish I could post my Control Journal here, but unfortunately I don't know how or even if you can attach documents. If you would like to see it, I would be happy to email it.

on a side note: You know how they have Day Sponsors on the radio on Lifesongs? Well on Saturday, the Day Sponsor sponsored in honor of Flylady. She really is great, and so very encouraging!

Have a Blessed, Stress-Free Day!

First Week as a Blogging Working Mom

Since I started this blog when I was out of school for the summer, I haven't actually posted yet as a "Working Mom". So here is my first post as a "Working Mom with a Stay-At-Home Heart.

I will just start out by saying that last week was ROUGH. I almost deleted this blog because I felt like a miserable failure at managing both home and work. There was a flood of emotions and a shortage of time. But then I remembered that I didn't start blogging to write a manual on how to go about this journey, but to document my journey, which is often times a little crazy..ok, a lot crazy.

Our schedules this year are really tough because of where my two younger kids are while I am at work...in completely different towns. It makes for a rushed morning and a rushed afternoon. But by the end of the week, things began to smooth out a little. Although, we ate out every night last week except for one night when we had leftover Pastalaya. The house was a wreck because by the time I got home I was exhausted. I really wasn't prepared for last week.

So this weekend, I am working hard to be ready for next week. I am hoping our lives will be more peaceful because of a few things I have done to get us ready.

I spent a few hours today preparing meals to freeze or to refrigerate for the week. Here is how my day went:

• Went grocery shopping for the week.
• Put together two meat loaves; one to freeze and one to put in the fridge for Monday night.
• Made two Shepherd's Pie mixtures-minus the mashed potatoes. Froze them both, one for Tuesday night, one for a later date.

**I have class on Wednesday, so Cecil will make pulled pork from the leftover pork we will have after Sunday lunch.

• Made a Spaghetti meat sauce to freeze for Thursday.
• Pounded, breaded, fried and froze chicken breasts for Chicken Parmesan on Friday. I will just thaw and add marinara sauce and pasta.
• Cut chicken breasts into strips and froze for Chicken Marsala.
• Diced, cooked, and froze chicken breasts for Chicken Pot Pie.
• Made a double batch of Chocolate Chocolate Chip cookie dough. Cooked one batch for snacks for the week. I will freeze the rest for use at a later date.
• Making a batch of pancakes to freeze. They are super easy to heat in the mornings for breakfast.

This all sounds like a lot. But it really didn't take as long as I thought it would. I plan to do this for a couple weekends to try to accumulate a few meals in my freezer for really busy days. I just have to remember to take it out to defrost. I am horrible about that.

I already feel better about next week. Now I am off to tackle the laundry and get uniforms ready for the week.

Whether you work outside the home or inside the home, what are some of the strategies you use to help your household run smoothly?

Fashion Savvy

I usually try to let the girls pick out their own clothes. I try to let them wear what they pick out barring anything inappropriate or just really extreme. This morning I told them to get ready because I had to go to the school and this is how Lylah Grace came out of her room. She always puts together the most interesting outfits.

She is so proud of her choice!

You know, layering is so in right now. Notice she has not one but two sweaters over her shirt. And yep, I'm letting her wear it. Although with this heat, I 'm sure one or both will come off. I just love her!

Happy Birthday to You!!

Ava's party went very well. We had the usual family and a couple close friends over for hamburgers, hot dogs, and cake. This birthday was, of course, a happy birthday, but for me it was a little sad. I just can't believe that my baby girl is one. I no longer have an infant. I guess why I'm a little more emotional is because she may be my last baby, and I just don't want her to grow up. But that is our job as parents, I guess, to grow them and teach them. I just wish sometimes that we had a little more time to do that.

Here are a few pictures from her party:

The last one was the day after, on her actual birthday. She was wearing the new dress that Mrs. Chasity got her and the headband that she made for her. Yes, we know another Chasity, I am not referring to myself in third person. That would be weird, but I guess not as weird as if I made my daughter refer to me as Mrs. Chasity.

Finding Joy

The school year is fast approaching. Already I am feeling anxious, busy (more than usual) and like I just don't have enough time in the day. I know myself well enough to know that I can get really grouchy-for lack of a better word. I have really been praying for God to help me to have a joyful heart in everything I do. I know, I know, I know, without a doubt that time is going to get crunched, schedules are going to become so full, they are bursting at the seams, and I know that the way I deal with these things along with the other daily inevitable bumps and gliches depends on my heart place. It depends on where my priorities are.

Like I said, I have been praying for a joyful heart for a couple of weeks now, and this verse is lodged in my brain for some reason. (I really know the reason)

Satisfy [me] in the morning with your unfailing love that [I] may sing for joy and be glad in all [my] days.

Psalm 90:14

I read or heard this verse somewhere this week-I can't remember where for the life of me. But it has really stuck with me. I think this may be my motto for the next 9 months. It just reminds me that my joy is not going to come from anything that can happen to me throughout the day, my joy comes from Jesus. Therefore, anything that happens to me throughout the day will not steal my joy away. It also reminds me that I need to "meet" with Him in the morning, for me it will be first thing in the morning. I'm really going to have to commit to having a prayer time each morning. I know it sounds terrible- and I feel ashamed even as I write this- but some mornings are just too rushed for me to sit down and have a quiet time. But as a wise woman(Lydia), has said over and over, "You usually make time for the things that are important to you". And it is so true. I mean, would I really leave the house without taking a shower? Okay, crazier things have happened ;) But my point is by not having quiet time in the Word every morning, I am essentially saying, "Ok God, I'm really sorry but I have got to unload the dishwasher maybe I'll talk to you tomorrow. Call me crazy, but I really don't think I, or anyone, would say that if God were really stading in front of us and really wanted to have a conversations with us. If there is something God wanted to tell me, you better believe that I would want to hear it. Well, God may not physically be at my kitchen table every morning, but I do believe that he has a word for me, and I want to hear it.

A couple more verses that I will lean heavily on are:

When anxiety [is] within me, your consolation [brings] joy to my soul.

Psalm 94:19

Be joyful always, pray continually, give thanks in all
circumstances for this is God's will for you in Christ
Jesus.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Party Season!!

It's party season here at our house. These next few months are busy ones for us. We have one birthday in Aug. Two in Sept., and three in October. Not to mention fiveother extended family birthdays in Sept. and Oct.

This year is Ava's 1st birthday. I decided to do a cupcake theme. Partly because a friend let me use her adorable, giant cupcake pan. But also because cupcakes are just so darn cute and fun. I mean at what other time do you get to eat a whole cake all by yourself. Today I realized that her birthday is sneaking up on me quicker than I thought( that always happens to me). So I stopped the garage sale preparation to do her invitations. It was pouring outside and I did not feel like leaving the house with 4 babies so I was determined to make them from what I had here at the house. Plus, it was a good excuse to play in my newly organized scrapbooking materials. Here is what I came up with. They're very cute if I do say so myself.

Loving your Home

Before this summer, I was ready to sell our house and get a bigger one, one with more room. After all, Ava, the baby is in our used-to-be office, which makes quite a cute bedroom once we get a door. I thought we could not raise 4 kids in a three bedroom house, especially when they get older and are wanting their own space. I worried that there was not enough room for all of our stuff.

But over this summer, while I wasn't working, I have really worked hard here at home, decluttering and getting rid of unecessary things that are really just taking up space. I don't know about you but when I look around and see clutter, it literally sucks energy and joy right out of me. What I have been trying to do is streamline our household. To make sure that everything has a designated place. To try to get things to run more smoothly. There is now room for all of our "stuff"--quite comfortably actually. I tried to use this motto when I was making my way through the house: If you don't love it or use it, get it out--a tip from Flylady (more on her later-love her)

I have also acquired a few new decorative items. Thanks to my sister-in-law who gave me a beautiful antique console table, which may just be my favorite piece of furniture in the whole house--and it was Free!

Now that I have gotten rid of things that I don't love and added a few things I do--I am loving my home. I don't feel like I need some new, big, fancy house to be happy and organized-A sinful outlook I often had in the past. I love the home we have been blessed with. And this goes a long way in trying to create a peaceful, loving environment for your family to come home to. Now I don't really want to move-this is the home where our children are growing up, our first home. It's so much more than just a house. And it's no longer a burden, it's a blessing.

Reading this, it would seem that the change in the way I see my home is purely materialistic...getting rid of things, adding things. But that is not the whole truth. I have spent time in prayer about this very issue. Because to be honest, by the end of the school year last year, this house seemed like it was falling apart. I seemed like I was falling apart.

I am determined not to let that happen again. But I needed a different attitude. Not just a change in mental attitude but a change in my heart. I needed to realize that all the chores, duties, and necessary tasks that I do around here are blessings to my family. At times, I still remind myself of this. But it helps to think of tasks as blessings rather than chores. Everytime I clean the toilet, my family will be blessed by that. Everytime Cecil doesn't have to rummage through the dryer or baskets of unfolded clothes to find what he needs, he is blessed by that. Now, they may not see it that way, the kids certainly won't. And that's okay. Although, Alyssa did tell me the other day, "Mom, I appreciate all of your hard work". That was nice to hear, not so much for the fact that I was thanked and appreciated, but because one day, she will be a wife and mom running a household and she is learning and observing at a young age that it often takes hard work. And that, too, is part of my job.

Just Too Young

Everyday this week I have been bringing my older girls to horse camp at a local ranch. On the way there everyday I have passed a Knights of Columbus building that is holding a "Teen Dance" in the near future. On the sign the ages are 8-16. Eight years old!! That absolutely breaks my heart. My Alyssa is 8 years old and I cannot imagine her being at a dance where there are also 15-16 years olds. I wouldn't let her go to a dance at this age even if it were only 8 year olds, but the fact that 16 year olds are also included is crazy.
I mean, 8 years and 16 years is only an 8 year difference. But these kids are worlds apart! I know the KC charges for the kids to get in, so allowing such young kids to go is just another way to make a buck (I am not condoning their part in this, at all). But why would a parent allow their 3rd grader to attend such a function. The younger they are exposed to boy/girl interaction (dancing, flirting, touching), the younger it progresses into something more. Then their innocence slips away before they even know the value of it. And it is our responsibility as parents to protect them and prevent that from happening to the best of our ability. It very much saddens me. I know I am not going to do everything right, I just pray that I can make enough right decisions with my children to protect them from that sort of heartbreak.
What do you guys think about this?

Nervous Energy....It's Addictive!

Ever since I was younger, when I get nervous, angry or upset, I clean or organize. My parents say that if they wanted the house clean they would just make me mad or ground me. Cecil can tell now when I am stressed or upset about something because I go through the house purging, cleaning and organizing like a mad woman. I have to say that, while I don't like the stessed out feeling, I like the effects of it.

So, in the days leading up to the surgery I had a lot of nervous energy. I had a long list of thing that I had to get done before we left. Good thing Cecil stepped in and helped me prioritize or we still would not have left for the hospital. But I did get a few things accomplished that really needed to be done. And now that they are done, its a huge relief. Here are some before and after pictures that show the benefit of nervous energy.

We Are Home!

Updating on the blog didn't work very well, because for some reason, I couldn't use my phone to blog. So I tried to use facebook a little.
We are home now. David did amazingly well. We are so proud of him. He had a couple rough days fighting fluid in his lungs. But other than that the surgery went absolutely as planned. He checked in on Friday, had his surgery, stayed in the PICU until Wed. when he moved to a regular room and then went home on Thurs. He is such a trooper and a good little patient.
We couldn't have asked for better doctors, nurses and staff at Ochsner. They were all wonderful, as they have been every time we have gone. By the time we were leaving, David was saying that the nurses were the "bad people". We, of course, told him they weren't and that they were people who love him and want to help him. It is so evident that the PICU staff love what they do. And I am so thankful for that.
I know that we had so many people praying for us and for David. Thank you all so much for that. Thank you to those who came to the hospital with us during the surgery. That meant so much to us and we know that you didn't have to come spend hours out of your day to sit in a waiting room with us, but you did. And we love you for that. It's funny how such trying and stressful times can also make you feel tremendously blessed at the same time.