Keeping Clean

As a stay-at-home mom, my entire job is loving and caring for my kiddos (one of whom is in school, but also high energy, and the other who hopefully starts preschool next year, assuming she can be potty trained this year), and keeping the house clean. Now, of course, all day is a long time to keep a house clean, and by myself I'm not very messy, but between a toddler that adores scattering books and toys everywhere, a boy who can't be bothered to put things in their place, and a husband that seems to have no concept of the idea of not using every dish in the house when he cooks, or where the hamper is, or putting things back where he got them, it's often a lot of work. A couple of years ago, I just had the worst time trying to figure out how to get myself in order and have the house in such a state that it wasn't a messy, overwhelming shock all the time. I didn't like doing giant cleaning days; they were too much. But I couldn't figure out a system of my own, so naturally, I went on Pinterest to find a cleaning schedule, and I came across this weekly schedule, and this monthly schedule, also pictured below. (I know in the second link, she has a daily schedule there too, and by all means, try that if you like it better.)

So on Fridays and Saturdays, depending on what's going on and what the rest of my month looks like, I might pick a couple of tasks from the monthly cleaning schedule to accomplish. I've added a few other personal needs, such as bleaching my toddler's sippy cups and the kitchen scrub brushes, cleaning up the basement, and a few other assorted tasks. There was a time when I had both schedules printed and posted on my bulletin board, but ended up not being able to keep with it; I need the satisfaction of actually checking an item off. So I ended up moving them, the whole schedule, to my bullet journal, which of course will be another topic in this blog for another day.

The thing I like best about these schedules is that they've become reliable and they're still quite easy to manage. I know on Mondays that I am going to be cleaning the kitchen. I know that means that my fridge will get cleaned out, and my appliances will be wiped down, my floors will be vacuumed and mopped. I know on Tuesdays my bathroom will be cleaned, which means the two rooms in the house that use towels will now be cleaned and I can run a load of towels without worrying that I'm running a towel load too soon. On Wednesdays I clean all 3 bedrooms, which is one of my favorite days; E's books are all put away and her kitchen is back in order, and therefore her floor gets vacuumed and the whole room looks like an adorable girly wonderland. J's room is cleaned up and vacuumed, deodorized (he is a boy, after all) and freshened up. And my favorite place of all to clean, my room. Normally it's the easiest because I never let it become a sty, but my room is my zen. It's full of my hobbies and comforts, it's fun to occasionally (or frequently) rearrange and organize. I love the look and feeling of a clean bedroom, where everything is as it should be. The hallways outside the bedrooms get vacuumed as well. And then on Thursdays I attack the living room, just in time to have it clean (at the beginning, at least) for the the weekend. Everything is put into it's place, vacuumed, dusted, and it looks like civilized people live here....until J gets home from school at least. And because I focus on a room a day, that means when some things get out of order during the other days of the week, it's not a huge effort to clean. It means when I'm sick, or caring for a sickie, or we have a party, it's not a huge issue to get done what needs to get done. It's easy to catch up when everyone's healthy, and it's easy to focus on finer details and polishing when we're expecting company. It's easier to care for my family when I'm not stressing out over things that constantly. Keep your house functional, folks!

If you need a reminder, watch Hoarders. OKAY I'M JOKING. Kinda. I do watch Hoarders and the purge the heck outta my house.

Aaaaaaaaaaaand we're back

What a doozy of a hiatus, yeah? I'm kinda back. We'll see. I'm going to try to commit to this. HA! What have I been up to? Well, it's been so long since I was on here, I had to look back at my last post to see what's been going on since then! Yikes. So here's the life update.

My last post was in November of 2016. 

E is now 3 years old. SAY WHA?!?! She's usually a happy little thing, full of live and "I WUV YOU"s and vim and vigor....with a dash of spice and sass. She does NOT take J's crap lying down, no sir. J is now in 1st grade, scaring all his teachers with his energy. G is in 6th grade and I THINK she's kicking butt. We shall see, I suppose. Husband has had a wretched, awful couple of years in farming and is currently one of the taller employees of a local pig farm. He's had several injuries from that, it's all fun. Concussions all around! 

In 2018 my FIL passed away, which was obviously and understandably a major shock to our family. My MIL ended up restarting her relationship with her high school sweetheart and moved to WV just about a month ago, and now my SIL and her fiance are moving into MIL's old house. We're still plugging away at our little fixer upper; E is about to move into a big girl bed and J is getting a Daddy-made loft bed. We're about to take in two kittens, Jamie and Morgan. 

I've been working on purging, redecorating and organizing my home and life, and have recently started two hobbies to that end: bullet journaling and listening to podcasts, specifically cleaning and minimalist decor-focused podcasts. I really, truly hope to keep up these blog posts and maybe come up with some cleaning tips for those who find themselves overwhelmed by stuff. Maybe in finding my own way, I could help someone else find theirs! So, after my zillionth reintroduction and own life overhaul....here we go!

Week 2: Pumpkin Spice Protein Shake

I've grown tired of being fat, of not finding clothes I like in my size, and as such, I have changed a few ways of doing things, specifically the way I eat. I've begun making a protein shake for breakfast, for two reasons: 1) I'm super lazy when I wake up and generally have no interest in cooking food for breakfast and 2) I snack less throughout the day when I've had a protein shake first thing. Generally speaking, my favorite way to prepare one is with a scoop of my favorite protein mix (I'm currently using ProFit vanilla), some version of milk (I live with a disbeliever so this is standard cow's milk for me, but it would be almond milk if he was less stubborn), and then a healthy spoonful of peanut butter and a healthy spoonful of strawberry jelly, followed by ice and whatever liquid and/or powder supplements I like to add (this includes It Works Greens and often elderberry syrup concentrate, to boost my immunity). All this goes in a blender, and makes a yummy icy shake. But lately, with my pumpkin pie challenge, I'd been wondering what a pumpkin spice protein shake would taste like, so I went in search of some basic recipes and found this one from Love Grows Wild. I only altered it to be cow's milk, and then since I didn't have nutmeg to make my own pumpkin spice, it's missing that...and I added some stevia for sweetening. I usually use stevia for individual sweetenings because it doesn't raise my glycemic index as much as other alternatives.

It's pretty good. I think the nutmeg would have helped, and I think I personally overdid it on the cloves, but otherwise, with a slightly tweaked amount in my blender, I think it could be a welcome fall treat for breakfast, so long as I choose to do a protein shake for breakfast.

Out of 5 stars, I give this one a 3.5.

Basic White Girl

There's this stigma in society that "basic white girls" love pumpkin spice things, and while I think the whole stereotyping thing is a bit high school, I do happen to be a fan of pumpkin spiced things. So I thought, you know what....there's a LOT of pumpkin flavored things that like to appear on the market around October; maybe I should try them all and do a couple of reviews. Heck, why not add recipes? And so that's what I'm going to do. Every week through November I'm going to try a new pumpkin recipe, post it, and then share my thoughts on it. As I've just decided this, I don't have the ingredients to start this week, so I'll start by listing the things that you can just buy and eat/drink, such as pumpkin pie spice coffee creamer. But next week, let the baking extravaganza begin.

This week: Creamer, Cheerios, oatmeal.

International Delight Pumpkin Pie Spice coffee creamer: As a SAHM with a fairly new baby and a super active 4 year old, I depend on coffee. Some days it's my reason for getting up, it's the blood that flows through my veins, it's the thing that keeps my head on my shoulders. And when fall comes around, warm drinks are even better....add in that pumpkin pie spice and you've made a very happy mommy. I'm a personal fan of International Delight because I like their variety of flavors, especially Irish Creme Cafe, Cinnabon, and White Chocolate Mocha during the rest of the year, but of course when fall and winter come, they come out with these other flavors that are just....amazing. No, I'm not being paid for this blog. ANYWAYS. It's got a warm, rich flavor without being overwhelming. There's also a sugar-free version for those who....like sugar free? I guess that's important to some people.

Pumpkin Spice Cheerios: Okay, I confess, I was a bit bemused when I saw these. It was a normal shopping trip and I was looking for off-brand Honey Nut Cheerios for my son when I saw this box, and decided I wanted to try them. I tried a bowl the next day. They do have an essence of pumpkin, but it definitely seems like they just took regular Cheerios and added on the pumpkin as an afterthought, instead of tampering with the original recipe. I'm sure there's some patent reason for that. They're alright; I always have Cheerios in any flavor with honey, and I tasted more honey than pumpkin. Nothing to write home about or spring for especially, not in my book.

Quaker Pumpkin Spice Instant Oatmeal: I don't actually have a microwave, so instant oatmeal is something of a oddness in my home. But I do know how to make it without a microwave, so when I saw this box I grabbed it. It's pretty good; not an overwhelming flavor, but pleasant nonetheless. I have to make 2 packets to make any appreciable amount for breakfast, and I prefer it with milk so I have to babysit my stove pretty closely, which can (and often does) get complicated when my son is on the run from the moment he wakes up. Still, that's my fault, not Quaker's, and all in all, I'd say it's pretty good stuff, if oatmeal is a thing you like for breakfast.

I'm POSITIVE there are more instant pumpkin flavored things out there, and if you have tried one and want to give a review in the comments, I say have at it. As a joke when I mentioned on Facebook that pumpkin spice coffee is my spirit animal (you know, if it was an animal), my pastor posted a picture of pumpkin spiced toilet paper, to which I replied that he pulled that out of his butt. Hahah, so funny. The only one of the above products that I say I can't live without is the creamer, and that is, apparently, because I'm a basic white girl. And yes, I wear fashion boots, leggings and a tunic. No scarves for me, though, so maybe I'm not a trendy basic white girl.

Makeover!

I'm coming to realize that, with life's twists and turns, this blog hasn't been a "homesteading" blog in a hot minute. We don't live in a self-sufficient home on the farm. We haven't given up that dream, but with a new baby came the need for a home and FAST, and so we bought a run-of-the-mill house, complete with bills. SO....it's time for blog makeover! The thing is, I'm most likely to blog what's on my mind, what I'm into, what my family is up to. I'm also trying to boot Facebook out as being such a prominent part of my life. It's not productive except for keeping up with family and friends, but it ends up being a mindless scroll and reload process. And yet I, and many others I know, can't stay off of it for long. So I'm making a conscious effort to restrict its grip on my life. I've also been reading some blogs such as Modern Mrs Darcy, and A Bowl Full of Lemons, and so I'm sort of...unsatisfied with the way all this is going.

Therefore, here's the update on this blog of mine: The name will stay the same, because my life is still one in a million, but what it promises to document will change. If, someday, we get back to our homesteading plan, I will document that, but for now comes the fun of getting to know J and E and their quirks, and goofy stories about Husband and myself, and our family adventures. And then, of course, when G is here, she'll be added into the adventures too. Books, organization, house-overhaul goals, all sorts of all things us. If you have any suggestions about things you'd like to see, I'd love to hear them!

Little Ways to Say 'I Love You'

I've been married for about 5 and a half years, a little over, I guess, and in that time, Husband and I have been through quite a few experiences that most couples will hopefully NEVER have to deal with. When a couple goes through stress and problems, it can either serve to strengthen their connection, or sever it. We're fortunate to not be severed. We've been together long enough that we know several of each others "idiosyncrasies" and little preferences, such as the fact that Husband doesn't like ice in his fountain drinks, and how when I'm having a bad day, he can perk me up by grabbing me Reese's, Snyder's Honey Mustard pretzels and a Pepsi. You learn these things about each other, because when you spend so many hours and days and weeks and months and years with the person you dedicated your life and commitment to, you're supposed to learn these things.

I'm a firm believer in the idea that love is not always presented in some big effort designed to drop jaws and cue music...sometimes it's just the little things that let the other person know that you remember, you think of them, you listen, you care. Husband stopping on his way home from work or school to grab something for me if he knows I've had a hard day with the kids, me baking him something because I know how he loves dessert, getting his food and drinks just the way I know he likes them and feeling bad when they're not up to standard...these are a few things. What are some ways, little things, you can show that may not exert a huge ton of energy or effort, but clearly show your significant other that you love them, you're thinking of them, you appreciate them?

1) Send them little notes and texts.

Nothing gets me more smiley than to get a text from Husband while he's gone that isn't asking for something, or about something...he's just texting to tell me he loves me. Likewise, I like to let him know that he's important to me, that I enjoy spending time with him. Today on my way home from the doctor's, he passed by my parked van at a gas station, because I needed to use the restroom and get a drink. As he drove by he texted me, "I c u." To which I responded, "Creeper." These are the sorts of jokes that we heartily enjoy.

2) Small, cheap efforts can go a long way.

About 2 years ago, Husband was deployed to Africa to deal with the ebola scare in Monrovia, Liberia. So before that, we had a date. Our dear friends watched the kiddo and we took off on Husband's motorcycle to drive over the mountain, grab some food from the dollar menu at McDonald's, and then enjoy the sunset at the top of the mountain. To date, that's still our favorite date, and it cost less than $5.

3) You know his preferences; use them!

Husband doesn't like ice in his fountain drinks. He likes my chocolate chip cookies, and dessert in general, so I try to light a fire under my butt and provide that occasionally. He's fond of Mountain Dew, he doesn't like pretzels unless they're flavored. He likes mustard or sriracha on his dippy eggs. His favorite beer is Shiner Bock, but he will settle for Bud Light if he must. He branches outside the beer box often though. He loves to try new chips, and hates beans and peas because of their consistency. He likes longer ankle socks with jeans, but insists on anklet socks with shorts, and NEVER jorts. He's a fan of sneakers on both himself and me, but doesn't push the issue. He likes a high fade haircut and likes even more that I'm capable of giving him one, because it saves money. You know what my knowledge of these things means? I can make him happy almost all the time.

It's so easy to love someone, simply by paying attention.

The Importance of Routine and Organization

As a SAHM of two young children, and when the 3rd, school-age child doesn't live with me, my days tend to be very fluid, and oftentimes boring. We stay home most of the time, not doing much of anything, and J ends up a bit on the troublesome side when he doesn't have a productive way to burn energy. I also find that when I am just waking up and winging it all day, every day...I lose track of things.

Husband is fond of a very popular blog called The Art of Manliness. It's an awesome site, honestly. It bugs me that there's no female version of it; Husband and I tried searching for one once and were led to a blog that described PERFECTLY why there isn't. If you're interested, you could read it here, I suppose. Incidentally, I ended up subscribing to that blog anyways; they've got some awesome stuff, including the list of books, and free reading journal that I've recently become fascinated with. ANYWAYS. On AoM, they list sites, ideas, products, etc that a classic man should involve in his life. Husband scrolled through one evening and found an article by which I was intrigued. And so both Husband and I embarked on employing our own routines.

The night we read that article, I also decided the time had arrived for me to start keeping a planner. You know, like a real control freak.

I got this binder for 3.88 at Walmart.

I'd looked for "real" daytimer starters, but those run around $40. That's a lot of money, and we like to be frugal around here. So I grabbed this binder, a package of filler paper in the appropriate size, and took my stuff home to work on personalizing it. My mom, years ago, kept a planner/organizer of sorts, but she hasn't used it in years, so she offered up the remnants of hers for my scavenging. The most fun about this has been making the Amy model. You will not find a planner like this anywhere in the world, and I love it. I can keep personalizing and messing with it and it'll never compromise the goal, because it's all basically original, if a bit odd looking. But hey, I'm odd, so we fit together.

The very first page boasts my need for coffee, and then my zip-loc pouch of stickers, hole re-enforcers, and postage stamps. I'm usually the one that makes out the checks and mails them for our bills, so I'm also the Stamp Guardian.

 

 

This is just one example of the personalizations I made; on each tab divider I have a different quote/meme/whatever that I just happen to like. This is a good reminder to me; I tend to react emotionally, and then pay the penalty for that reaction later. 



 

This is just an example of my weekly planner sheets. For confidentiality's sake I'm showing you a week I haven't done anything on. Normally my weekly stuff contains Husband's school schedule, any appointments, and even Blog Tuesdays that never seem to fall on a Tuesday because I'm a lazy slacker.





 

Yeah, this. Because this is also why Blog Tuesday never happens on a Tuesday. J is a busy boy. Even today is not one of our best days, but this particular entry and its distraction are keeping me sane, and keeping him alive.

 

Again, for confidentiality's sake, I'm showing you a month in the future that doesn't have appointments and such on it. For each month I wrote the name and then some symbol of it. For September, I did a book. October has a pumpkin, November has a cornucopia, and then December, my other favorite month, has this pretty snowflake and a sticker Christmas wreath. Stickers make me happy and I'm not ashamed to confess that I raided G's unused sticker collection for these.

 

We started collecting coins; it's something we can do as a family that will have value for future generations, and is fun to do now. We're doing states and national parks, as well as antique coins when the history is fascinating to us. For instance, Husband and I share a love of Nazi Germany history. Don't ask why; we're quirky. Husband found a deutschmark with Hitler's face on it and we snatched it up for pretty cheap. And now we have Nazi money in our safe. Aren't we fun?

 

This is what I was talking about when I mentioned my free reading journal. Love this thing. It has space for a bunch of things, but since it's a PDF you can print what you want of it. I have the cover and intro pages, and then 4 pages for lists of books I want to read, 2 for abandoned books, 11 for detailed descriptions of books I've read, with ratings and other such info, and then 4 pages of recommended reading, based on award-winning books. I LOVE IT. That cardboard divider on the left has Post-Its superglued on the front, with labels as to what each is to be used, but since it uses our real names I'm not showing that.

 

 

I stole my mom's business card pages, but I'm using the second one for pictures, so I don't have to make my checkbook fat anymore. Plus it lets me display them ALL, instead of just a select few.

 

 

 

And now, my dear friends, I shall detail my morning and evening routines for you. The article Husband and I read talked about how it gave structure and order to the day, that no matter what chaos happens in the middle, you can always count on settling everything down when you stick to your routines. Now, timing is much easier for men to settle if they determine to wake up at the same time every day, and have a schedule by which to organize their day. But mommies to sporadically sleeping 2-month-olds can't stick to timing, because who knows when the crap we'll be up for the day? Once E is older, I might set a wake up time a bit earlier than E or J wakes up, for some Mommy Time in the morning (something I deeply enjoyed before I got pregnant with E), but for now, timing is in the wind.

 

 

Once E is settled (diaper changed, dressed, fed, content to sit for a bit on her own, or possibly even snoozing again), I do my hygiene necessities, such as brushing my teeth, doing my hair, destinking myself with deodorant and body spray. Then I get dressed in workout clothes and put on a few essential oils that will help me start my day with J well (Stress Away and Joy are two of my norms). J's breakfast and drink come next, because he expects those almost as soon as he gets up for the day. When he's done with that, I put E in the Tula, J in the stroller, and we go for a 2 mile walk. As soon as we get home, we go potty, and then I take J and E outside to play for a bit on the swingset. J is an active type and I find that if he is allowed a chance to get some energy out, he is a better behaved boy for the rest of the day, so I let him go monkey, and I put E in the disk swing we have and push her around. Sometimes she falls asleep in that, sometimes she needs to eat again. We stay outside for as close to an hour as I can finagle, depending on J's behavior and E's needs. When we come inside, I change into my clothes for the day, make sure everyone's settled doing something or napping, and do whatever I have on my to-do list. I try to keep a running to-do list because as long as there's something written down with an empty box to check next to it, I have motivation to get it done. Between to-do list items and the kids' needs, I can easily tick the day away. At night, after E's had her bath around 7:35 and been fed, I put her down for bed. J goes to bed around 8:30, after he's cleaned his room starting at 8. Once both kids are down, I shower, brush my teeth and reapply destinkifier. I set out my workout clothes for the next day, and then review my to-do list and schedule for the following day. My goal is to add devotions to that, and then I go to sleep.

 

The day I started employing routines, I found myself feeling more accomplished, and actually being more productive from the get-go. It feels good to get myself into the mindframe of "ok, let's get this and this and this and this done" and then to actually do it. I've been limiting myself to 30 minutes of FB time a day, to cut down on mindless screen time, but I do want to start enforcing Blog Tuesdays again, and even planning out my entries. We'll see how that goes; I've stuck to this daytimer far longer than I've ever done one before. My birthday is in just over 2 months, and I'll be 30; I think this will be my decade. I feel better about myself. I can't wait to drag you along with my better decade. <3