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Tip Tuesday

Lately, I've been feeling like I can't keep up, which is why I haven't been blogging as much.

I've been feeling guilty about that.

But, I eventually had to tell myself to "Knock it off!!"  My first priority is my family and my wee ones, so if other things go by the wayside for awhile....ie......housework, baking, cooking, blogging, laundry..........etc........etc........then, so be it!!  I had forgotten how exhausting it is to care for a newborn, and then two little ones on top of that.  It's hard to get much else done!!  :-)  But, this is still the transition period, so I know things will get easier.  It just takes time.

But, in this transition period, and my endeavor to live life more fully, I am often evaluating, and then re-evaluating things I want to incorporate into my life, and things I do NOT.  In this journey, I have been wanting and striving to have a nice, clean and organized home, but there are other things in life that are important to me, too!   I want my home to be in order, be clean and be clutter-free, so that I have time to nurture relationships, take care of my children, entertain, and enjoy living, without being a slave to my housekeeping routines.

Mind you, I keep a fairly clean and organized house.  Sure, there's dust settling on the China, there's pet hair on the couch, there's often times toys strewn everywhere, the floors aren't mopped daily, and if you were to open up a couple closets and/or cabinets you might see some dis-organization, but all in all, my house is clean "enough."  So, without being a slave to housekeeping, and with the chaos in my life right now, I wanted to share a few tips that I use to keep my house "clean enough."

1.  Follow a morning routine.

This is hard for me to do right now with a newborn, but before Anna, I almost always followed the same routine every morning.  While the kids get to watch their hour of cartoons in the morning, it was my time to make coffee, have quiet time, check email, get my makeup on and start their breakfast.   I am STRIVING to include GET DRESSED as part of this morning routine, because I have found that when I get up BEFORE the kids and actually get dressed, right down to my shoes, then I feel more ready to go and tackle the day, then if I were to stay in my sweatpants all morning (and sometimes all afternoon!!) long!!  When I follow the same morning routine, I often feel ready to tackle the day more readily!!

2.  Do the dishes and clean the kitchen after every meal.

I hate, I repeat, HATE waking up to dishes in the sink!!  Anyone else??!!  For some reason, it makes me feel like I'm already behind in my day, and the day has just begun!!  So, to combat that, I always do the dishes, clean the counters, wipe down the table and spot clean the floor after every meal.  There's just something about knowing that I'm waking up and walking into a nice, clean kitchen in the morning that makes  me smile!

3.  Involve the kids.

Ava and Luke are just 3 and 2 years old, but they each have chores that they have to do on a daily basis.  They're age appropriate chores, but chores nonetheless!  They also have to clean up all their toys in the TV room and in their bedrooms EVERY night before they go to bed.  Also, involve the kids in activities like dusting, sweeping, mopping, etc.  Ava loves to help out, so when I'm dusting, I give her a dishcloth, and she goes to town!  Not only does it teach them responsibility and discipline, but it helps me, too!!!

4.  Laundry every day.

This sounds like a lot, but I have found that if I do at least ONE load of laundry a day, I won't get too far behind.  I often do a couple a day, but if you do AT LEAST one, you have a less likely chance it will pile up!!

5.  Schedule certain days to do certain things.

Not everything has to be done everyday!!  If you tried to do that, you'd have no time for anything else!!  I plan certain days of the week for certain projects.  For instance, I always empty all the wastebaskets on Tuesday because Garbage day is Wednesday, I always plan my bulk baking (bread, muffins, etc) for the weekends, unless I incorporate it as a project for the kids.  My lovely husband is in charge of cleaning the bathrooms every Saturday,(although, I can't seem to remember the last time he did that??!!), but I always at least wipe down the counters, sink and toilet every day.  Thursday is when I do all the dusting in the house, and every Friday I go through the house and make sure things are stocked, paired down and combined,  ie:  paper products in both bathrooms and kitchen, diapers and wipes in both of the kids' rooms, cereal boxes, cracker boxes, etc are gone through, etc.

6.  Never exit a room with empty hands.

There's always something in every room that doesn't belong, so I make it a point to never leave a room without picking something up and putting it where it belongs.

I would LOVE to hear some of your tips for keeping your house "clean enough!!"  Feel free to chime in!!!!

Faithful Friday

It is with VERY heavy eyelids that I write this post to you today.  Anna had a little bit of a rougher night last night and I was up the majority of it with her.  So, this will be a shortie, but a goodie.

As I was up with Anna, for the 4th time at 3:13am, eyes barely able to open, and a feeling of, "I can't get up again!", I rolled out of bed, turned the dull lamp on, and picked up my precious baby out of the crib and began to nurse her in the glider chair.  Even though I felt like I couldn't get up again, just seeing her, hearing her sweet little cry, and knowing that she depends on me, I realized something right in that moment:

GOD WILL NEVER GIVE ME MORE THAN I CAN HANDLE.

Sure, I'm tired.  Sure, I was up all night.  Sure, I have a 2 and 3 year old that get up early.  Sure, I have to make it through the rest of the day.   BUT......

GOD WILL NEVER GIVE ME MORE THAN I CAN HANDLE.

With His strength, I can make it through anything.

EGGS

I love eggs.

I'll eat them pretty much any way you can make them, and when eggs are on sale, I buy lots of them!  Eggs are packed with protein for very little.

I've been getting nervous about my major stockpile of eggs that are still sitting in my fridge! The date on the side of the box, (the "expiration date") is fastly approaching, and I don't want to waste them.  So, as I was looking up recipes to use my eggs, I came across some useful information that I thought I'd share.

If you're concerned with buying a big stockpile of eggs, I have good news for you!

According to the AMERICAN EGG BOARD,

"The oil coating which seals the shell's pores helps to prevent bacteria from entering the egg and reduces moisture loss from the egg. RAW SHELL EGGS REFRIGERATED IN THEIR CARTONS WILL KEEP FOR ABOUT 4 TO 5 WEEKS BEYOND THE PACK DATE WITHOUT SIGNIFICANT QUALITY LOSS."

"Properly handled and stored, eggs rarely "spoil". If you keep them long enough, they are more likely to simply dry up. But, don't leave eggs out at room temperature. They'll age more in 1 day at room temperature than they will in 1 week in the refrigerator. Room temperature is also an ideal temperature for bacterial growth."

Excellent news! Now I can breathe a little easier about my sweet little eggs!!

Tip Tuesday

With a new little 2 week old babe in the house, I'm learning and realizing more "tips" as I go along!!

1.  Clothes can be worn again!!

I guess this can go for all of us, not just babies, but I'm realizing this more and more, as my laundry is piling up!!!  Yes, babies spit up and often times can have a "blow out" in their diaper and soil the clothes they are wearing.  I have often had to change Anna's clothes multiple times throughout the day, but I found myself putting all of her clothes in the laundry whether they were dirty or not.  The main items I tend to just throw in the laundry basket being her jammies and pants.  Often her pajamas stay nice and clean and I was tossing them in the laundry as I got her ready for the day.  NO LONGER!!  I'm really going to examine her clothing, along with A and L's clothes and make sure I'm not just arbitrarily throwing clothes in the laundry that can be worn again!!  Now, don't get me wrong.....I'm not crazy, I want my kids to wear clean clothes!!  I'm not going to be psychotic about this, I just want to be more mindful of the things I'm throwing in the laundry.  It makes huge sense for my laundry piles and for my pocketbook!

2.  "Old" towels, shirts, Onesies, etc, can be used as burp cloths!!

I tend to want to get rid of, or throw away old items if there is not much life left in them, but why not use them as burp cloths?!  I had a bunch of old, stained onesies from Ava and Luke, and I almost threw them away, but realized they can still have a use!  So, I threw them in the wash, got them nice and clean, and they work out beautifully for mopping up spitups!

3.   Use wipes more sparingly!

I have figured out a "trick" to using only one wipe, when the "poo-poo" isn't too bad.  I pull the tabs on the diaper and use the diaper, itself, to do the first, initial wipe.  There's no reason why I should just pull the diaper off, without using it as a helper......that's what it's for!  So, I use the diaper for the first wipe, then tuck it under her bottom, in case she decides to pee-pee while I'm cleaning her, which she has done quite often!!  (Tucking it under also helps to save cleaning of the changing table pad cover if an accident should occur!!)  Then, I take one wipe and wipe up the rest that the first wipe with the diaper didn't get.  It works like a charm almost every time, and I only used one wipe!!!