I'm blogging again

I know, I know, I need to get off the computer and get a life.

But I am so thrilled with all that I have accomplished this weekend, that I just had to share. This is a big deal for me!!

Get this. All three bathrooms are clean. As in, on my hands and knees, scrubbed clean. All three!!

The living room, kitchen, and dining room (office) are clean--vacuumed and everything.

Ada's bedroom is still clutter free and fairly spotless.

Our room is well on its way to being clean. As soon as I type this, I am headed upstairs to fold a mountain of clothes while I watch Gilmore Girls and I need to vacuum.

What still needs to be done as far as cleaning goes? The master closet is a disaster. The junk room is now filled floor to ceiling with things that must be organized, and the guest room is covered in coupon paraphernalia. But, that is only three rooms. After the cleaning we have done this weekend, that's nothing.

I have my house in good enough shape that I can now implement my House Works weekly cleaning plan in order to keep things in shape. This has been the goal for a while now.

Daily I have to make beds, wash, dry, and put away two loads of laundry, clear kitchen counters and wipe down stove, clean kitchen sink, empty kitchen garbage, sweep kitchen floor, pick up family room and play areas (put away toys, remove clutter, etc.)

Weekly I have to change bed linens, clean bathrooms, clean kitchen counters and wipe inside of the microwave, wash or dust hardwood surfaces, dust furniture, vacuum carpets and rugs, check entryway and sweep if needed.

I am just so glad to be at this point in the organization process. Will you celebrate with me, internet friends?

Exhausted

My second trimester energy has come in full force, and I am thrilled, to say the least

However, just when I start to tackle one of the millions of projects weighing on my mind, my body goes and reminds me that I am, in fact, pregnant, and a wave of exhaustion hits.

As you know if you have been reading my blog for long, I am constantly looking for a good system for keeping the clutter in my house somewhat under control. On the day that I saw the positive pregnancy test, and I knew that baby number two was on the way, I determined to find a doable system before February.

Then the first trimester sickness hit, and I became permanently attached to the couch when my head wasn't hanging over a toilet. In the midst of that madness, the house practically buried itself under mounds of clutter and just plain mess.

While I was in Alabama, I was talking to Ann about the situation, explaining that I just couldn't figure it out. Here is my problem. I look at my mess of a house, and I determine to clean it, top-to-bottom, all in one day. I take a Saturday, begin the process, realize I am in way over my head, and I admit defeat as I go pour myself a diet coke and turn on an episode of Gilmore Girls.

This time, I am absolutely determined to start with small, doable steps that will turn into habits. And it's working. Every morning I begin by fixing Ada breakfast, and as she eats her breakfast, I get to work on the kitchen, unloading the dishwasher and making sure things are in order for the day. Then, after we are done with that, we move things upstairs, where I make up the bed, and I pile clothes from the dryer onto the made bed, and I fold and put away. These two habits that I am forming are setting the stage for a functional housekeeping system, and I am relieved.

I am also trying to slowly work in once a week habits, as I continue with the daily tasks. For example, Friday I stripped the beds and put on clean sheets. I hope to make this a Friday habit. Then today, we vacuumed all the heavy trafficked rooms in the house, and I scrubbed the master bathroom until it shined. (Which took quite a while. It was long overdue for a good cleaning). I plan to tackle the other two bathrooms tomorrow, which are not nearly as dirty b/c they aren't used as much, obviously. I have only been at this for a week, but already my house is looking much more "in order."

I now know what life is like with a newborn (unlike the shock of the situation after Ada was born). And though I have no real idea what life is like with a newborn and a two year old, I can slightly imagine, so I am determined to gets things under control before this baby moves in and rocks our world.

All of that to say, that tonight, I am absolutely exhausted from a hard day's work, but I feel so very satisfied with the state of my house.

2009 Goals Revisited

Back in January, I made a list of goals for the year, and then I said I was going to evaluate my progress every Sunday. Ha. It's April, and I am just now bringing it up again.

But progress has been made. Just to refresh. Here I discussed wanting to get my house in order, walls painted, blinds hung, diet coke eliminated, new meals cooked, and more money saved. How am I doing?

The blinds are hung.

I have tried (once) to make homemade bread.

I have learned to love chicken on the bone, and I even made homemade donuts one Friday night (which tasted good, but left me feeling a bit sick).

The money saved was going better, but we have hit a bump in the road the past two months mainly because of those little things that just come up. However, God has provided more tutoring hours than ever, so we are still on track, but we do wish that more progress had been made.

And my house, oh my house. Flylady and I separated a long time ago, but I do feel like we have more of a routine around here. I think Ada's getting older has helped with the routine. Every morning I try to make a list of 5-10 things that are that day's priority. For example, tae bo and dinner are always on the list. I make the list as doable as possible, and then I tackle those tasks. It helps me to see this on paper, and with each item that I cross off, I gain momentum for the other items. It's working for me. Granted, this stomach virus got me a bit side tracked. I was playing single mom and nurse to two all at the same time, and the result was what you see below. I am now dealing with the aftermath. But praise God, I didn't get sick.

Things are going okay. Our schedule is so insane right now with all of the tutoring, that I am just trying to stay on track the best I can, and the list helps me to do that. What tricks do you have for keeping your life organized? I am always up for a little advice.

The Baby Steps Continue

This is a picture of my linen closet. Why is it so full, you ask. It is so full because every single piece of laundry that I own is washed, dried, folded, and PUT AWAY. Can you believe it? Scott and I spent the whole weekend working on it, and I started the week ready to keep up with the laundry. So far, so good. My friend, Tutti, who will be making her blog premiere very soon (I hope), gave me this advice--do small loads all day long. She says that this way, the loads are manageable when it is time to fold them and put them away. And it is working.

Bed made? Check

Sink Clean? Check
Laundry Caught Up? Check

What's next on the list, you ask? Well, the list is long, my friends. The list is long.

This weekend I have big plans to clean off the top of my dresser, and the master bathroom, and finish organizing Ada's room. We'll see how all of that goes. Though Ada's room looks awful, I am actually in process of organizing, so something is being accomplished, you just can't tell from the picture.

Did I mention that I did organize the toys in the play room, though? That's a step in the right direction.

In the mean time, this is what Ada is up to while I am doing all of that organizing.

How the day is going so far

The Good newsThe Bed is Made


The Dishes are Clean

The Laundry, however, is a whole other story.


One baby step at a time, right?

Things are getting a bit crazy in the Moore house

As you all know (because I talk about it in every post), we are some budget-following, deal-seeking fools here at the Moore home. I have learned to enjoy living this way, but I first started this new hobby of mine out of necessity. We are on a quest to save money, get out of debt, and free up some cash in the budget. For so many reasons--some of our own doing, some purely circumstantial--we have found ourselves in a tight spot, and we are doing everything in our power to work our way out of it, and learn as much financial wisdom in the process as we possibly can. If at all possible, we don't want to find ourselves here again:)

To aid in this quest, I have taken on after school tutoring jobs. This serves many purposes. One, I get out of the house, and I get to use my degrees. This does quite a bit for my morale. It can do a number on a mom to do nothing but change diapers and sing Itsy Bitsy Spider all day long. We have also started chanting and dancing to bible verses, but I will save that story for another post:) Anyway, I think that even if we did not need the extra money, I would enjoy tutoring for a few hours every week. However, we do need the extra money, and, in fact, Dave Ramsey tells us that we need to be gazelle intense until all of that debt is paid off (not including the mortgage). So...I am taking on two more students in addition to the ones I was already tutoring. Plus...I tutor online through Tutor.com. I get paid twice as much to tutor in homes, but I want to hang on to the online tutoring job for seasons of my life (pregnancy, newborn, etc. etc.) when getting out of the house every afternoon may not be as feasible. All of that to say, the schedule is getting a bit hectic, and I am feeling somewhat overwhelmed.

Here is what I am looking at

Monday--3:30-4:30, tutor
4:30-5:00, drive across town
5:00-6:30, tutor
6:30-7:00, drive home
7:00-9:00, tutor online
9:00-11:00, down time before bed

and this schedule pretty much repeats itself until Friday night, when I get a break.

To top it all off, in order for Scott to be home in time for me to go tutor, he has to get to work at the crack of dawn, meaning he has to go to bed super early. So, like I said, things are getting a bit insane around our house.

Obviously, this is not an ideal situation, but we are very thankful that one, we are in a place where I am able to tutor this much, and two, that I have the tutoring jobs at all. We plan to dig our heels in, and go full force until summer, and then, of course, things will slow down. It's just a few months, and the rewards far outweigh the cost. I am typing all of this to remind myself of these things:)

I am feeling a bit overwhelmed today, so I thought it would be helpful to remind myself of the goals we have. One, most of all, I want to stay at home with Ada. This is making that possible. Two, I want to one day have more than one child (obviously), and our schedules will be crazier, and I won't have the freedom to do this. Now is the time to get out of debt. Three, my tutoring prevents Scott from getting a second job. Ada gets quality time with both of us. Scott and I both feel like that is important. And, we both have the weekends completely free, so we can soak up family time then. Finally, we are learning so much through this process, and if it were easier, I don't think the lessons would be as memorable.

Update on the 2009 "goals"

Remember the goals I set for 2009? I planned to evaluate the week's progress every Sunday, but the time got away from me yesterday, with church and tutoring and community group and figuring out meals, well it just didn't happen. So, here I am a day late, to reflect on the past week and set new baby step goals for this week.

Let's start with successes--My sink was clean and my dishwasher loaded every single night. And, I made my bed every morning as soon as I woke up. Scott told me that it takes 28 days for something to become a habit (I think that's right), so I am determined to do those two things for 28 days without missing a day. Seven days down.

Not so successful, however, was my plan to wake up early. As you know, I did wake up early on Sunday (accidentally), and I absolutely loved being up before the rest of the house. It was so quiet and peaceful, and by the time Scott and Ada woke up I was in a great mood and ready to start the day. We'll see if I can continue to wake up at that early hour. It really depends on what time I am able to go to bed at night, so I am taking it one morning at a time.

Note: this morning both Scott and I woke up late because neither of us remembered to set the alarm. Oh well.

Other goal from this past week--one diet coke a day. Oh dear, how I wish I didn't have to report on this one. It was not good, ya'll. In my defense, which really there is none, there were two different nights when Ada woke up all night long and I needed something to get me through those days. So, we're keeping that goal. IT HAS TO HAPPEN.

Steps to making it happen this week--drink 4 bottles of water a day. I think that if I focus on drinking more water rather than less diet coke, it will be easier to make it happen. Like a positive rather than negative goal. We'll see. So, that is the goal for this week. Nothing to do with diet coke, just water. I can drink however much diet coke I want, but I have to drink four bottles of water. There is no way I can drink tons of both--it's just not possible. I'll let you know.

As far as the housekeeping goes. I need to continue the kitchen cleaning and bed making. I will continue to try to wake up early. I really think it would be beneficial for everyone. But, I do want to tweak the goal. If I don't wake up, my goal is then to do my bible study as soon as Ada goes down for her nap. Ideally, it will happen first thing in the morning, but because life happens, plan B is naptime.

The housekeeping/homemaking goal that I am adding this week is this--one load of laundry put away every day. The reason I just say put away is because I have no problem getting it washed and dried, it's the folding and putting a way that trips me up. We have piles of clean clothes covering our bedroom. So that I don't feel overwhelmed, I plan to put up one load a day.

And that is all I am adding. I want this to work, I really do, so I think the smaller the goals the better. Slowly but surely, I will get the house in order.

And if any of you readers have any advice for what has worked for you, please share.

The Rug Doctor, it just made my day

Okay, if you have ever been to my house, then you must have noticed the horrid stains on the carpet. I mean, you name it, Ada has somehow spilled it and smushed it and stomped it into the carpet. It's horrible. And, to make matters worse, I am going to guess that in these "pre-planned" communities, the builders use the cheapest carpet available in order to keep costs low, which means everything stains the carpet.

It had gotten to the point of humiliating, so Scott mentioned this machine that you can rent from Kroger--the rug doctor. I didn't have high hopes for this machine because, well, our carpet is just so bad. But for only 25.00 (compared to the price of a professional), I thought it was worth a shot. So, we rented it tonight, and Scott has "doctored" our family room and living room, and it looks like new, ya'll. Like new. Well, if you turn the overhead light on, you can still see shadows of the previous stains, but with the lamps on, which is how I keep it, it looks like new. I am more inspired than ever to keep my house clean, and to find sippy cups that truly are spill proof. Ada likes to to take those sippy cups to the limit. "Spill proof you say? I am going to turn this thing upside down and shake it as hard as I can onto the white couch, just to see how spill proof it is," (Ada speaking). She then likes to play in her puddle of sticky apple juice, just for added fun.

Anyway...next on the list of home improvement, paint these walls. I will post pictures after it's all said and done.

Oh the day that we are having

We are in survival mode at our house today.

Last night, Ada decided to wake up every hour on the hour, and at one point when I stumbled into her room to put her back down, she was standing in her crib pantsless. She had tossed not only her pacie and her blanket "overboard," but her pants as well. And that is the night we had. Needless to say, I did not wake up at 6 am. The only solid sleep that Ada and I had all night long was from 5:45-9:15 this morning. It took one night for me to remember what those first weeks of motherhood were like. It wasn't pretty, folks.

So...the day is not going as planned. I am tired. Ada is tired. Which means, we are both rather cranky. I have had too much diet coke, and we have both eaten too many cookies, Ada's new favorite word, by the way. I have plans to buy some kashi whole grain cookies at the grocery store this coming week as a compromise. But for today, we are filled to the brim with junk, and a lack of sleep.

The good news--did I mention that Scott and I are going to the beach in May:) And...my sink is shiny, my bed is made with clean, fresh sheets, and I just did Tae Bo bootcamp. Things could be worse.

And there is always tomorrow.

It's a good day for so many reasons

let's start with a confession--I did not wake up before the rest of the house.

Scott woke up super early to go the gym before his final weigh in for his Biggest Loser contest at work. I haven't mentioned the contest lately because Scott didn't want anyone at work to know how hard he was working, hoping it would discourage the competition. That being said, that contest has been the center of our world for the past few weeks. Anyway, he went to the gym this morning for one last work out, and I was so fast asleep I didn't even hear him leave. He told me that he reset the alarm for 6 am, but I did not hear it go off. It is entirely possible that I turned it off without even realizing it. At 6:30, Ada woke me up, and so the day began. Needless to say, the day didn't start out as planned, but that's okay, there is always tomorrow.

Back to the contest, though. All the hard work was oh so worth it because SCOTT WON. HE WON. We are going to the beach for our anniversary, and we could not be more excited. I have found this cute little studio condo right outside of Rosemary Beach that costs next to nothing, and with gasoline prices down, we are going to do this thing the right way--on a budget. We plan to not spend one dime other than the prize money. We were talking about it today, and all we could talk about was how much sleep we are going to get. And how relaxed we are going to be when we come back. We plan to go away for three nights, and I think that will be just enough to come back very refreshed. Again, we are so stinkin' excited.

I am very proud of Scott. He stuck to this thing through Thanksgiving and Christmas, and I rewarded him with a very yummy pasta meal tonight and brownies for dessert. He hasn't had a single carb all week, so he was very excited about the meal. My hubby is the same weight he was when we got married. He's looking good, if I do say so myself;) I don't think he has big plans to actually keep the weight off, but we'll see. With no money to motivate him, the old eating habits may come right back.

Anyway...that's our big news of the day. I did wake up to a shiny sink, and I made my bed as soon as I got out of it. Now, if the alarm would actually wake me up, I might be able to complete the week's baby steps.

Tomorrow I will be back with all of my grocery shopping plans for the week. I feel like a kid in a candy shop with all the deals that are out there. I am slightly blown away. It's going to be a record week, I think. I'll keep you posted.

Baby Steps

Okay, it's the first Sunday of the New Year, and I am here to set some baby step goals that I might actually accomplish my 2009 "to-do" list.

Because I am the world's worst housekeeper, I am going to use Flylady as my coach. Heard of her? She takes women just like me, who are drowning in the chaos of their homes, and she transforms them one baby step at a time. So...the baby step for this week is that I must shine my sink every night before I go to bed. The whole premise is that when you wake up to a shining sink, your day starts out better. I guess I'll buy that. It means no more going to sleep with dirty dishes in the sink, and I think that's a step in the right direction.

The other thing the Flylady encourages is getting dressed first thing every morning. Which, if you are not a stay-at-home mom, that might seem like an obvious statement, but there are days that I see noon before I take my pajamas off. And on a very bad day, Scott may come home to an unshowered wife. Not a good situation, folks. So...my new plan is to wake up at the stinkin' crack of dawn, take a shower, fix myself a nice cup of hot tea (not diet coke) and sit down with my bible all before Ada wakes up. It feels impossible to do this, but I know it would make my days go better.

** side note--I am a person who absolutely thrives on order and control, so when I don't have some sort of schedule going things just sort of fall apart around me. I think that I am into month 17 of being a stay at home mom, and I still haven't quite figured out how to make this my job. Everyday still sort of feels like a Saturday, so nothing gets done. I know this to be true because the first few months after Scott and I got married, I didn't have a job, and I had no children. I thought I would get so much done around the house, but I was going stir crazy. I finally found a tutoring job for the summer before I started teaching the next fall, and all of a sudden I could get things done again. Something about being inside my house ALL DAY LONG prevents me from getting anything done around the house. Combine that with a 17 month old trailing behind me all day, and well, our house is a bit of a disaster. Anyway...I am trying to turn that fact around starting this week.

And one last goal for the week, I have to make my bed first thing everyday. It's like the sink and the bed will be my control points. They will be the spring board from which everything else gets done. It's amazing how much it works. The other night it was nearly midnight, and I was not in bed and there were still dirty dishes in the sink. But I took the time to clean the kitchen anyway, and I was on top of the world. It made me feel a bit more in control of my home, so I am sticking to it. 2008 was the year I got our finances somewhat under control. 2009 is the year I get my housekeeping skills under control. I'll keep you posted.

p.s. the diet coke elimination starts this week as well. One a day. Oh, I hate to give it up, but I know that I have to once and for all. I am stocking my fridge with plenty of bottled water to grab when I want a diet coke. And hot tea in the morning. It's perfect timing to do this actually because Ada is just now old enough to want to drink a sip of my diet coke when I have it. I have a feeling that water won't have the same appeal.

Happy first full week of 2009, everyone. Let's make it a successful one.

Now, New Year's Resolutions

Again, Simple Mom has provided great questions for thinking through goals for 2009.


Similar to the 2008 reflection questions, I will answer a few here, though there are many more to think about than what I will post.

1. What skill do you most want to learn this year?

Oh how I want to pull that sewing machine out of the extra room upstairs and actually start using it. I have big plans to lug that thing home to either my mother's house or Scott's mother's house to have a little sewing lesson. So...resolution number one, sew at least one outfit that Ada can actually wear before January 1, 2010.

A few homemade drapes and pillows around the house wouldn't hurt either.


2. What is one skill you already have that you'd like to improve this year?


Hmmm...cooking maybe? I want to cook from scratch more. I have tons and tons of yeast that I purchased for free sitting in my cabinet, so maybe my first project will some type of bread. I have never made homemade bread before. I'll let you know how that goes.


3. Name three books you most definitely want to read in 2009.


Good question...I am not sure, and I am thinking this may have to be a completely separate post. Please, any readers out there, suggest some books worth reading. Fiction, parenting, money management, whatever, suggest away. What are your favorites?


I haven't read all of the Narnia books, so maybe I will mark those off of my list before 2010.


4. What are some specific ways you can encourage your spouse?


I am serious about the housekeeping, folks, I am terrible, so I would love to get a handle on that. I imagine it would be quite encouraging for Scott to come home to a clean rather than chaotic home.


I also want to be better about careless spending. Let's be honest, here, our biggest stress area is the budget, so the less I spend, the more encouraged he will be. I am bad about the occasional McDonald's hamburger or Sonic diet coke when it wasn't previously calculated in the week's budget. Those little expenses add up!


5. Think of one of your major life goals. What will you do this year to make you one step closer to reaching that goal?


We want to be debt free. And I do mean debt free. Everything, house included, paid off. We are so far from that right now, but we want to mark off small goals this year. Emergency fund in place, debt snowball rolling, and hopefully all cars paid off before 2010.


6. Name a few ways your physical health could be improved.


Well, let's state the obvious. I can eliminate the diet coke. I also really need to exercise more. This is good for my mental and physical health. I am setting a goal for exercising 3 times a week (at least).

7. In what way do you want to draw closer to God?


Since becoming a mom, I am terrible at letting my quiet times slide. In college I was so good at waking up early, going for a run, doing a bible study, and showering all before my 9 am class. Not so much anymore. Because I am a morning person, I want to start waking up before Ada, so that I can start the day with a quiet house and some time with the Lord. I think this would benefit everyone in our home. If I could be showered before she wakes up, that would be an even bigger bonus.


8. What is one thing you want to accomplish before your birthday?


My birthday is August 12th. I want my house to be painted, finally, before my birthday. I want everything downstairs to be painted. I have colors picked, I just have to get it done. I have big plans to paint my kitchen chairs red, my breakfast room walls gray, and the kitchen and family room "pale smoke." I plan to paint the guest room the same green as the dining room, and I am not 100% sure on the guest bath. Suggestions anyone? (Particularly you, Ann, since you helped me pick all of the other colors).


Even smaller goal. Before March 1st, I want wooden blinds on my front door. Our front door has a glass front, and the house came with blinds on every window and the breakfast room door, but not the front door. We just keep putting it off. We did put temporary blinds up one Saturday when I couldn't stand it anymore (you can find these at Home Depot), but the time has come to actually make the call and schedule a time for permanent blinds to be put up.


Okay, ya'll, I need accountability to actually make these things happen. From now on, every Sunday I will report on how the previous week went. I am hoping that if I have to actually tell someone that I didn't do one thing to make my house neater, well I will get off my tail and get it done. We'll see. What are your New Year's resolutions or goals?


Happy 2009, everyone!