Homemaker Monday: Trouble-Shooting Lack of Organization

Welcome to the 61st weekly edition of...


Thank you for joining us! If you're new to this carnival and would like to enter your post, please check HERE for the rules and regs.

YOURS: This week's "YOURS" goes to Kara over at "Kara's Kitchen Creations"! She wrote the most adorable post about a fun Halloween dinner you can prepare for your kids. I became so happy and actually smiled when I looked at how her "mummy pizzas" turned out. I actually said in my mind as the photo was scrolled up onto my computer screen "Oh. My. Gosh!" Look, see if you do the same...

Am I right? Didn't you smile? If you didn't, you need to do an attitude adjustment! So, Kara, thank you so much for linking up with us and teaching and inspiring us. If you want, please feel free to take the "I Was Featured" button from my left sidebar! For Kara's recipe for "mummy pizzas", click HERE. Thanks again, Kara!

MINE: This week, I am going to troubleshoot how I can improve my day to day living through better organization.



(This, or course, is someone else's home.)

On Friday, I posted a play-by-play of one grueling day in the life of me. It's right below this post. I did it, basically, because I couldn't think of anything better to blog about. Looking back, though, this may have been a mistake. One of my purposes of having this blog is to encourage mothers of large families, and those who would like to have and are working towards having a large family. As one commentator put it, "You are at once inspiring and terrifying me!" I seriously didn't mean to terrify, so I added the "POST ADDENDUM" stating that this is not necessarily a normal day for me, but that days like this do indeed occur more often than I'd like to admit. There were also commentators who didn't seem to approve of this chaos, qualifying their comments with "Hope this doesn't sound mean, but..." or "Not to be rude, but...". And that's okay. I love a good, open, honest conversation, and I feel like we had one in the comments section of that particular post.

All of that being said, I think I could look back on that day and trouble-shoot areas that could have used improvement, and try to become more organized in my daily living so days like this don't occur as frequently. And that is exactly what I am going to do, trouble-shoot, with you here, watching and learning (by my mistakes!), so here we go...

Problem #1: K, I think my first mistakes of the day occurred during the following activities...

"8:40 Spend time on a forum where we discuss motherhood, religion, blogging and the like. Spend time explaining why Mormons don't drink coffee."

and...

"11:00 More computer time."

During a "discussion" my husband and I had this weekend, he expressed that one of my, how shall we say, okay, faults is that I have taught the kids that play comes before work. We had just returned from a trip, and instead of having them clean out the van, I told them they could go outside and throw the football for 45 minutes, then come back to finish their work. My husband did not approve of this one little bit, and stated that I was teaching them to get their reward before their work was finished. Although I tried to reason with him and explain myself, he didn't see things my say, so I called the kids in from their football throwing and told them that they needed to start working.

Although I couldn't say to my husband that he was right at that time, as I thought I was completely justified in letting the kids stretch out for a while, as I think about it now, I do believe I could use improvement in this area. Rather than spend nearly an hour on the computer in the morning, I could have used that time much more productively. I could have planned and begun preparation for dinner, so that I didn't have to throw PB&Js in plastic bags in my diaper bag, then forget to serve them at the concert. I could have folded laundry, read to the 3 three and under, or any number of things. Yes, we all need a little "me" time, but perhaps I could have chosen to get my "me" time after my work was finished, as a reward for my efforts maybe.

Problem #2: The second problem occurred during this event...

"4:05 Continue to encourage the 9-year-old boy to find his piano music for his piano lesson at 4:00

4:10 Send the 14-year-old girl to take the 9-year-old boy to his piano lesson, sans music."

Because I am not diligent about making sure the 9-year-old boy brings his music in the house and puts it on the piano after each and every lesson, it always gets left in the car, someone cleans it out, then it usually turns up in some plastic trashbag full of belongings from the van two weeks later. In addition, the 9-year-old boy became very angry that he had to spend time looking for his music, mumbling under his breath how stupid piano lessons are and how he never learns anything and how he should get to choose whether he wants to be in band or piano, but he shouldn't have to do both. This was all under his breath, mind you.

If I could have been more organized about his piano music, I wouldn't have experienced so much stress and he wouldn't have become so upset about having to go to piano lessons.

Problem #3: Next, we have these events which could have used some improvement...

"5:00 Ask the 14-year-old girl to take the 7-year-old girl to dance class.

5:00-5:30 Try to comfort 3 fussy boys who didn't get naps to speak of.

5:30 Place the now sleeping Twin A in bed, knowning that now he will never go to sleep at his regular bedtime.

5:35 Sit down while holding Twin B and talk on the phone to the 20-year-old girl.

6:00 Pick up 7-year-old from dance class.

6:20 Greet boys who have returned home from football practice, am told by the 13-year-old boy that he needs black pants for the band concert, to which he is to arrive in 15 minutes, remind him that he doesn't own a pair of black pants, so what does he expect to do about this, look at the blank stare on his face, suggest that he call his cousin, who is about twice his size, to borrow his black pants."

This was nearly an hour and a half of just piddling. I could have organized and used this time to make dinner. I also should have had the foresight to ask the 13-year-old boy what he was going to need to wear to the concert so we could have avoided this cousin-pants fiasco. I know my husband would have thought of that. He is just that way. He plans out in his mind every eventuality that could possibly occur and puts plans in place in order to solve any potential related problems. I'm just not that way. I'm spontaneous, and free, creative and adaptable, disorganized and, as on this particular day, too busy and chaotic to even remember to feed my kids dinner before 9:00 at night.

Problem #4: Next problem...

"9:30 Change the twins again, dress them in their sleepers, give them a drink of water, encourage them to follow me into our bedroom, read them a story, offer them more water, to which both of them shake their heads no, lay them down, their heads on pillows on either side of mine, place their covers on them, turn out the lights, say a prayer for them outloud, then drift off to sleep with them, which wasn't supposed to happen because when I woke up, it was...

11:15 Go to the living room to find that the 13- and 9-year-old boys had not gone to bed, but instead had fallen asleep to Madagascar on the couch and recliner."

I have no regrets about how or when I put the twins to bed, but realizing how tired I was, I should have had the foresight to tell the boys that they needed to go to bed by 9:30, just in case I fell asleep. Again, I know my husband would have thought of this, but I didn't, and my kids had to pay by being tired the next day. Yes, it is their own doing and that is the natural consequence of their behavior, but still, an organized mom would not have let this happen.

So, you tell me, what else could I have improved to make my day more managable. Don't be shy, I'm up for more constructive criticism if it helps me to be a better mom and wife.

OURS: Okay, what do you have for us today? If you've never participated before, feel free to use an archived post whether it be a recipe, a how-to, homemaking or motherhood inspiration or anything else related to homemaking. Thanks so much for visiting us here today and I hope you have a GREAT Homemaker Monday!



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Works-For-Me-Wednesday: Cleaning Out a Diaper Bag

This is what...



Is it just me, or does everyone's diaper bag become a toxic waste dump every couple of weeks? It's most likely just me. Regardless, I am going to share with you how I clean it out. I clean out one side of my kitchen sink, dry it off, make sure the drain is in, then dump the entire contents of the bag into the sink, like so...


Here's why: Usually there are crumbs, small pieces of paper, coins and all manner of small objects that need to be collected. The sink is the perfect place because it will hold the entire contents of my diaper bag and when I am finished reloading all of my belongings, I can just rinse the crumbs down the drain.

I doubt this post has been of use to anyone on the planet, but perhaps you have gotten to know me and my idiosyncrasies just a little bit better. Good luck you to, however you clean your purse or diaper bag!

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Homemaker Mondays: Cleaning Your Microwave

Welcome to...


Thank you for joining us! If you're new to this carnival and would like to enter your post, please check HERE for the rules and regs.

YOURS: This week's "YOURS" post was written by Trachelle over at High Heels and a Sippy Cup. (Don't you just love the name?) Although it took her six long years, she has come up with an ingenius way to store jewelry. I love the sepia pictures she took for her post. Here's one of them...


To read Trachelle's entire post on storing jewelry, click HERE. And don't worry, Trachelle, it took me 20 years to find your post and learn how to store jewelry! Thank you!

MINE: Today's post is just a small tip I learned several years ago that has changed my life. Okay, not really my life, just the few minutes each week I spend cleaning my microwave. There are two schools of thought when it comes to using microwaves to cook or warm food. The first, to which my mother-in-law subscribes, is that one must cover the said food with a paper towel to avoid even the tiniest of splatters. If, per chance, there is a splatter, it is cleaned immediately, thus affording a consistently clean microwave. The second school of thought is that one can willy-nilly place any and all food UNCOVERED in the microwave. Spaghetti sauce splattered on the top? Who cares? Someone will deal with it later! Hot chocolate bubbled over all over the glass tray? It's okay, it gets sterilized every time we use the microwave anyway. Plus, again, someone will deal with it later.

In my family, we choose to subscribe to the second school of thought, but in the first paragraph I said that I only spend a few mintues cleaning my microwave once a week. How is this possible, you may ask, after all the spaghetti sauce, hot chocolate and sometimes even caked on cheese? Allow me to impart of my wisdom, Little Ones...

Step 1. Halfway fill a microwave-safe, medium-sized bowl with water and place it in the microwave.

Step 2. Heat this water on high for 3 mintues, then let it sit in the microwave for 10 more minutes.

Step 3. Remove the bowl of water from the microwave, but be careful because it could still be extremely hot. You might even want to have a hotpad ready.

Step 4. The steam from the water will have softened all of the debris from your microwave walls and you should be able to simply wipe them down, put your tray in the dishwasher, wipe down the outside and, hopefully, your microwave will look like this...


Happy cleaning!

(Disclaimer: Really, be very careful when you take the water out of the microwave. It could cause a serious burn. When my kids clean the microwave like this, I let them put the water in and start it, but I always have them come get me when it's done so I can remove the bowl myself.)

OURS: Okay, now it's your turn. Let's see what great ideas all of you happy homemakers have for us today. Remember to leave a comment, which makes it easier for me to enter you in the prize drawing, and let the other homemakers you visit know what you thought of their posts with lots of considerate comments. Thanks again and have a Happy Homemaker Monday!





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Talk About Tackling It: The Kitchen

No, not the kitchen in our new home. It's not yet finished, for those of you who are waiting with bated breath for the photos. (Yes, I know there is at least one of you who is waiting. You told me so yourself.) This is the kitchen in the attached mother-in-law apartment in which we are currently residing.

Now, you may think nothing of the following photos, but please believe me! This is a huge deal! Taking care of 6-month-old twins and a 2-year-old leave me little or no time to accomplish much of anything. However, now that the twins are sitting, they are happy to hang out in the kitchen with me, playing with the canning jar rings on the floor, while I do my work. Here is what I accomplished in one day....all at the same time...for the first time in 8 months.

A clean fridge...


A clean kitchen...


....and as a added bonus, John brought back from the states a week's supply of fresh fruit! Funny, you would think that one could get lots of fresh fruit here in Mexico, but in our neck of the woods, it's hard to come by. I'm not sure why. Anyways, I love the looks of this...


As a side note, after I had taken this picture in preparation for this post while the kids were at school, upon returning home, the 12-year-old boy looked at the fruit and said, "Mom, I bet you're going to blog about this fruit, aren't you!"

How did he know?

This post is listed @...


and...


...two of my favorite blog carnivals! Check them out by clicking the pics.


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Talk About Tackling it!

Today I thought I'd combine my two favorite blog carnivals...


and...


...into one post.

I'm talking about tackling this eyesore...


This is the first thing you see when you walk into the mother-in-law's apartment in which we are residing temporarily until our larger home is finished. It's disgusting, disturbing and unviting, is it not?

Were it not for Tackle-it Tuesday, it would still look like the above photo, but with the motivation of wanting to post this tonight, I tackled it!

Here is what I did with the babies at one point...


Here is what it looked like halfway tackled...


...and here is the finished product!


My favorite part? Now Johnny can get his own cereal!


What is your "tackle-it" for the week? Let's meet here next Tuesday and talk about it!

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I'm not a freak anymore....or am I?

Talk about being a control freak. Here’s a little history about me. During my sixteen years as an army wife, I learned to be in charge. Rob was gone for weeks, months and during one deployment five weeks after our fifth child was born, even a year. I learned to be a control freak, because if I didn’t do it, there was no one else who could. But there’s something I’ve learned since my twins were born. I’ve had to give up being a control freak. I simply cannot control things they way I could before they were born, namely because I’ve chosen to exclusively breastfeed and this takes between eight and ten hours per day. It’s TOTALLY worth it to give them the best nutrition I can, but as with all good things that come to us, there are sacrifices. For instance, during a tandem nursing session, I can’t necessarily open the front door when the contractor knocks and needs me to describe the way I need the tile laid in the house we are building. I can’t stop the toddler from unrolling all of the toilet paper onto the bathroom floor, and when he’s finished with that, opening another roll and doing the same. I can’t answer the phone when it rings. When two kids are arguing, I can’t go to them to help resolve it; they have to come and stand before me as I’m nursing in order for me to mediate. And… I can’t pack the van in preparation for a three-day drive to a beach resort in Mexico. Why anyone would WANT to do that with eight kids in tow in the first place is questionable, but for some reason, John and I thought it would be a good idea. This is what our van looked like during the trip home…

I NEED HELP! During out stay in the hotel, I kept thinking that I would go down and “muck it out” as John says, but between nursing sessions, preparing food sessions and magnanimously watching the kids jump off huge rocks into the swimming pool over and over again sessions, there just wasn’t time. I felt out of control and helpless most of the time. My priorties were the twins and making sure they were fed and happy, but everything else was completely out of my control. That being said, John did an absolutely fantastic job with the rest of the responsibilities. He purchased and organized all of the food for the trip, planned the route, and during our stay, took the toddler and whoever else wanted to go for early-morning walks on the beach every day...


...organized a deep-sea fishing trip for all ten of us...


...and prepared many of the meals we ate in the hotel suite...


Overall, the trip was a success, and I will write of certain specific events that occurred in later posts, but my purpose in writing THIS post is basically as a “note to self” of how we can avoid the chaos in the van as pictured above. I always tell myself that I am going to record what went wrong during any given trip and how I can improve things for the future, but I never seem to get around to it. Now that I’m a blogger, however, this will be the perfect forum in which to do this. The following ideas will take a great deal of preparation on my part, but as the twins will be starting solid food in two days, I believe I will have the time I need to prepare properly. This is what I’m going to do differently:

1. The van will be completely cleaned out and vacuumed before we leave for our trip. I know, common sense would dictate that that be done, but in our case it wasn’t.

2. Each child will have their own small backpack, including the toddler (for which an older child will be responsible), in which will be placed notepads, waterproof markers, pens, books and any other small toys we, as the parents, deem appropriate.

3. Each child will have a small blanket and throw pillow. I, in my control-freakish nature, will be responsible for these objects when not traveling. They will be under my protection and never to be used in the home, ONLY for traveling.

4. There will be ABSOLUTELY NO EATING IN THE VAN! Each child may have their own water bottle with a sports top, but absolutely nothing else. Ground in Subway tomatoes in the carpet does not make for a comfortable foot area.


5. All snacks and lunches will be prepared ahead of time and packaged individually. Gone will be the days of having to haul huge laundry baskets and ice chests full of food out of the van at each rest stop. The kids will help in this preparation so as to be accountable for what goes into their snack packs and lunches, hopefully avoiding the disappointed stares as they open their brown paper bags.

6. Each child will be given a plastic grocery bag to contain any trash that might accumulate on the road. These bags will be emptied into the gas station garbage cans each time we fill up.

There…a very idealistic look at what my next trip will be like.

Now, let me ask you this: What do YOU do to make traveling with kids easier? Please feel free to post your comments and share your wisdom. I would especially love to hear from new visitors to this blog! The more, the merrier!

This post is listed at We Are THAT Family, a very funny blog hosted by an awesome lady, and ...

The Lazy Organizer's "Talk About Tuesday". This is an awesome site that will get you out of the clutter closet!


If you're still here, you get to read it...

The 19-year-old girl: Mom, you don't look like you've had nine kids, just maybe four or something...