again

I decided because today was such a horrible day that I would do day 1 over again. Between cleaning up bodily fluids and dealing with the busy day I didn't have one chance to even think about being patient. So tomorrow I will try again.

On another note the washer is finally fixed again, no leaks in the pipes and I actually did a load of laundry tonight. The light burned out in the laundry room and so Jason fixed that for me. It has a place for 2 bulbs but we for some reason only had one bulb in there. So once we added the second bulb it was like heaven it was so bright! I can see all the es h eye tea in there that needs to be washed and put away now. UGH now I get to do laundry all day tomorrw. Hope everyone had a wonderful friday. So happy to be done with this day.

40 day love dare

There is a movie called Fireproof that is amazing! If you have not watched it then you are missing out. It is a Christian based movie, with some very sensitive topics that most married couples deal with. It is just awesome! Anyway, it is based of the book "The Love Dare" which I highly recommend as well. I am going to jump in and take this dare as a part of my growing experience on this blog. You will get what I am doing if you checkout the movie!

I am going to extend most of these days to all my relationships. This is really a dare for couples but i really think I will try to make it work for all the relationships I have in life.

Day 1

1 Corinthians 13:13
And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these [is] charity.
Ephesians 4:2
With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;

Love is life's most powerful motivator!
Love changes our motivation for living.
Love is built on two pillars: Patience & Kindness
Love will inspire you to become a patient person.
Patience brings an internal calm during an external storm.
Patience stops problems in their tracks.
~Quotes from The Love Dare

What To Do Today

"Although love is communicated in a number of ways, our words often reflect the conditions of our heart. Today resolve to demonstrate patience and to say nothing negative to your spouse at all. If the temptation arises, choose not to say anything.
It is better to hold your tongue than to say something you'll regret."
1 Thessalonians 5:15And to esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake. [And] be at peace among yourselves.

Questions At The End Of The Day
Did anything happen today to cause anger toward your mate?
Were you tempted to think disapproving thoughts and to let them come out in words?

So this is the goal for tomorrow. I think I need to learn the most patience with my kids. Something to work on :)

running

Today was all running and not a lot of relaxing. Tonight I picked up everything for Makayla's school easter party that I am in charge of tomorrow, made dinner, cleaned up a bit, made some headbands and hung out with Chloe. Now I am headed to bed with my scriptures, a few things to do on etsy and hopefully asleep before midnight. Love you all! GOODNIGHT!

yawwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwnnnnnnnnnnn

I hate working late! I get home at almost midnight and I can't fall asleep. I lay in bed for hours and just try to relax, try to take my mind off things and then I just can't do it! I fell asleep at 3:00 am and then up at 7:00 to get Makayla ready for school. I think I am ready for school to be out for the summer. Anyway, I just have sooooo much going on the next week that I am a little overwhelmed I think. Tomorrow is Makayla's school party. I am in charge and honestly haven't done a single thing for it! UGH!!!! Then tomorrow should be really low key. I am not worried about that at all. I have an Easter party at noon on Saturday then work. Then on Sunday is Easter. Monday I have work and trying to get ready for the kids swimming lessons that start on Tuesday. I have to some how get swimming lessons, work, school registration, quilted bear, etsy, pebbles in my pocket, bachelorette party, bridal shower, piano lessons etc. all in this next week. Heaven help me now! Wish me luck.......... I am going to need it. I think a Sonic trip is in order this morning.

My goals for tomorrow

My goal is to get the kitchen really clean, clean the floors and then the front room. I will do a bit of research on storage for the kids toys and then sketch out some ideas for the front room. Not many people know this but I was determined to be an interior designer. I took classes in High School and even won 2 contests with the Building Youth Institute. I also took a few college classes as well while still in high school because my scores and skill level for it was above the high school classes. My teacher Mrs. Jones helped me with all that. Not saying this to "toot my own horn" but that I think all the design classes started me on my path to my little accessories business. So I really can design, and decorate even if my house tells a different story. I wish I had the money to do what I wanted but that will come in time. Kaden's room is next after I finish the front room. Then downstairs and my work space. Life has been soooooo busy lately that I haven't been able to organize like I would like. I love to be busy but this is just crazy busy and I could do with out a few things. So most of my next few posts will be about decorating and organizing one room at a time. Starting with the kitchen as it is the only place I feel I have decorated at all. Clean floors, clean kitchen hopefully to be CHECK and CHECK tomorrow.

changes

So Jason had a meeting with his boss. Some good changes have been made. Jason is not the small job/remodel guy for the business. He is being paid a little different so the potential to make some really good money is there! I am really excited about it and also very nervous. It is what they call piece rate. So if his guys work hard and get things done then he will get paid well for it. If they are slow and he is having trouble getting them to work then they will not make much money at all. Jason would never allow something to be done in a way that was not 100% so I am just more worried about the new and unknown. We have never not had an exact idea of what is wage will be. In the end this is a huge blessing for us and with me working nights at Kohls I think that we will be more then fine. This just might be the blessing we needed to get into a house sooner then we thought! YAY!!!! Still trying to decide if we stay and buy what we are in or go some place else. We will see :) This year so far has been a really great one. We have had lots of new and exciting things happen. Hope the good things keep on coming :)

As for the organizing stuff. I am still working on it! I have done some research and found some great blogs I will share later.

a blah day

This morning started out with Jason waking up and finding out he has no work today. That was not good. It makes me REALLY nervous. So a little "plug" here for Jason's work- if you need small or big jobs done on your home or know anyone that does give him a call! Alright enough of that. I decided that I am going to make about 20 clips and get pictures taken, edited and posted on my etsy store. That took about 3 hours total. Long process! I think they turned out cute so it was worth the time. I am trying really really hard to up my business as well. I have 3 places I sell at currently. One is quilted bear and I don't get down there enough. The second is pebbles in my pocket in orem and that is not as busy as other stores so it isn't a HUGE money make yet. Then I have my etsy shop. I do really well there but it is hit and miss. You can only guess how well you will do because one day you will sell a lot and then the next day nothing. I figure if I make about $100 a day between ALL three spots I will make more then I need to for our family. I think shoot for high and hopefully it will motivate me to work harder. So I will be doing a lot of thinking over the next little bit. I need to find ways to get the traffic up in my etsy shop and sell more at the other 2.

Enough of business! It is raining and cold. I need the sun today! Jason is on his way to the dentist for the first time in 5 years........... I am so dang nervous! He has horrible teeth but we haven't had dental insurance for a long time so bad teeth and no insurance = no dentist visits. His dental insurance started this month so we jumped right on it! I hope it won't cost a lot :(

All this random info and I am off to pick Makayla up from school!

Sunday walk

Tonight we decided to grab the kids and go for a walk. We walked to my Mom's house and back. The kids LOVED it! Addi thought it was so much fun getting fresh air. The weather is beautiful tonight. Thankful for time together with the family. Just a quick post to remind myself I have it good :)

Bishops and such

Today my Dad was released as Bishop of his ward. The ward is the one I grew up in. The ward Jason and I went to while getting ready for the temple. It is HOME for me, always will be. It was cool to watch my Dad stand up on that stage in front of everyone and be bishop. It is equally as cool to know that we get to spend more time with him now. Addi was on one today. She woke up on one and spent most of the meeting screaming and crying. In most wards I would feel horrible, like I should make it stop or do something about it ASAP but in this ward I just walked her around, took her to the front row and let her walk etc. It is just home..... again always will be. I am so excited for my parents who get to do some things they don't usually get to. So excited that my Mom and Dad can leave with out having to be back Saturday. So excited that the stress of that is gone from their life right now. They are the most amazing parents ad so lucky to have them. SO excited to get to spend more time during the week with my Dad and not have to worry about him getting to meetings on time. What a wonderful time it has been learning from my Dad in his calling.

Out

Last night I decided to go with Shannon over to Bonnie's house for her little Slumber Parties thing she was doing. It was a lot of fun being with the girls. Shannon and I have been friends from the first time she moved next door (26 years ago). We don't always hang out or keep up with each other but as soon as we get together it is like we haven't been apart at all. Love her! Then Chloe stopped by for a minute and I wish I could have stayed longer with her but 10:00 was coming close and Jason was home taking care of kids for me for the 2nd night in a row so I thought I better hop on home.

I am blessed with so many great friends in my life. There are times I feel like I don't have many. I lost a lot of friends when I got married. Most of my friends from highschool stopped talking to me as soon as I started dating a guy from another school (my hubby now). I stopped cheerleading and just kind of drifted away. It was after I found out I was pregnant that I realized these people were NOT my true friends. I grew up with them, I did everything with them but honestly they could care less who I was or what I was doing. Not a single one of them came to see me in the hospital after my surgery. Anyway, this is getting jumbled but I went years all alone. Then I was blessed with a Sister in law! Chloe has been such a huge blessing to me. We have a lot of the same likes and dislikes. She is ALWAYS there for me and I love having her as a sister. My brother Devin will be getting married very soon and he has blessed me with another Sister! Katie is so much fun and I really get along with her. She is also a great friend and so I am super blessed to have these two beautiful girls in my life! I do have my husband's sister as well. We are only 3 months apart in age (her being older) and she has been such a great friend to me as well. Tiffany came into our family about a year ago and she is a blast and great to support you in everything. With that being said I have all my sisters around me that keep me from going crazy. The ward I live in is amazing. I can count so many of them as my friends. Not as close as I am with my sisters but they have been a huge support to me over the past 4 years we have lived here. All in all I am blessed with lots and lots of friends. Lots and lots of support and I am so lucky! This is more of a "count your blessings, name them one by one" post ha ha So today I am thankful for friends!

work work all day long

Today I have my first real shift at Kohls. I started working there for a couple reasons. One is to just get out of the house and really clear my head. I can spend the entire time hanging up clothes, stocking items and listening to music. I am sure I will get a little Fever...... that darn Justin is on all the time when I am there! Anyway, I don't have to worry about packages, cleaning house, doing laundry or taking care of people. I just BE and get paid to BE. SO NICE!!!! Not like I will be making much but it will also help to have a little bit of extra money each week. Nice to have the extra to take the kids to a movie, get an ice cream or anything else that sounds fun at the time. Today has been a much better day. I read my scriptures and wrote in my journal last night. Along with all that and blogging I feel like I got a lot of the stress out. It was very nice to have the uplifting words from the scriptures to help me drift off into dream land. Today I packed the kids up, met Jason for lunch and then dropped off some hair things to my Dad. He gave them as a gift to his procesor and she loved them. That was nice :) It is nice when people enjoy what you do. I wonder sometimes if I am just boring and people will get sick of the pieces I make but it seems like I get busier every month so hopefully that is a sign that I am on the right track. Quilted Bear is doing really well. I have some new design ideas for display that I want to try out. I will be hopefully getting those ready for the end of this month. Any helpers welcome! I will be making shelving units and a few cute buckets for headbands. A trip to Lowes is in the making! Pebbles in my Pocket has been fun and it is time to re stock there. Hopefully I will have enough product to do that on Saturday. Etsy has picked up for Easter sales as well. Drop by customers from the neighborhood and friends keep me on my toes as well. Not sure how I will be able to have stock and items finished for display in 3 different places but that is my goal. I wan't a show room in my work area for drop ins. I have a few of those a month it seems. ANYWAY, blah blah blah (I sound like Ke$ha or how ever you blah blah spell her blah blah name) and that is that. Work, work all day long. Punching the clock until it's time to go home because it is all a bunch of SHIFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFT work. Alright my sanity is gone, have a wonderful night and I will try not to catch the fever tonight at work.

A little thinking to do

In a talk given by Pres. Thomas S. Monson he said- "Our house is to be a house of order. “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven,” advised Ecclesiastes, the Preacher. 14 Such is true in our lives. Let us provide time for family, time for work, time for study, time for service, time for recreation, time for self—but above all, time for Christ."

All these things I need to organize better in my life. Family, work, study, service, recreation and self. I wonder how I will ever be able to manage all these details and sleep. The key I believe is Christ. If we center our thoughts on Christ and take time to learn from him everything else will fall into place. I am still feeling pretty down. I still wish that I felt better about myself, about my accomplishments and about every little detail in my life. I continue to get up every single day and TRY my best but most of the time I end up annoyed at the kids and irritated about something else. Why do I do this? Why can't I just be a better person? I make these big lofty goals and never ever reach them. I think I am missing a huge step in this. I think the reason I have always failed at my goals is because I have missed one huge step.......... that step is to take time for Christ. After all he is the reason I CAN have goals and better myself. He is the reason for it all.

The reason for this blog is to better myself. I was all hyped up to do something and make myself a better person and I fail once again. I lack the motivation to do it. I lack the will to try these things for longer then a day. I feel I need to cut out the world after 8 at night. Let the kids snuggle in bed with me for a half hour reading stories, read my scriptures, journal, blog and catch up on myself. I feel like I am always running 100 miles an hour all day every day. I have stretched myself thin with work, responsibilities and family time. Looking over all I have to accomplish it is time to cut some of it out. Time to manage my life a little better and really accomplish what I set out to do with this blog in the first place.

First step, center all things in Christ and everything will fall into place from there. For once I will just do the best I can and not stress about every single detail that usually drives me crazy. Time to be a better me! The best ME I can be.

A little for me!

today I decided NOT to shower because I really hate taking the time to do my hair! I did however take a nice long bath, pulled my hair in a pony tail and tossed on some mascara. Still sick and pretty run down so for me today I am going to make a new recipe called "Banana Split Bread" from my new cook book HUNGRY GIRL, 300 UNDER 300. Only 155 cals in this simple recipe PER serving and it is packed with good stuff for you. Great little breakfast with an egg. Anyway, not much to report today because I still feel so yucky. Hopefully next week will be a little less snot and snow and a lot more sun and feeling better. Love you all! Take care of yourself today!

A House of order

Keeping my house clean is not my #1 priority I will admit. I would rather play with the kids, work on my little business and get some sleep then really clean the house. I do however realize that there is a need and I should be a better wife and keep it cleaner. The one thing I have worked on is my laundry room. I used to let that place become one giant pile clothes. I mean GIANT!!!! You could hardly walk in it and the place stressed me out. A while back I was thinking of ways I could simplify this laundry thing and I found a system that works for me. I got on Amazon and ordered a laundry sorter with three bags/places to put clothes. Each one has been assigned to a child. Then I took our old laundry basket and slid it under the counter for Jason and I. Each kid is responsible (well not the baby) to bring their dirty clothes and put them in the bag and put their clean folded clothes away. I fold the clothes right out of the dryer and then I put each child's clothes in a separate basket that sits on the counter. It is hard to explain but it works for us and I have been able to keep the laundry room almost 100% clean for a week now. Next week once I get the laundry room down to a science I will work on the kitchen. UGH I shudder at the thought of doing dishes.............. yikes! Better get my thinking cap on and start figuring out a system for that room as well.

A House of Learning

Today is going to be a skip day. Baby and I are sick with colds and between runny noses and wanting to be held there isn't much time to dive into this one. How did scripture reading go last night? Well great other then I had new beginnings for YW and didn't get home until late so I did half of my goal. The kids were asleep when I got home so it wasn't exactly as planned but today will be a great day to hit our goal! Happy Wednesday :)

A house of faith

So what exactly does a house of faith mean? Does it mean you are super religious? Does it mean your house needs to be like a church? So my quest to find out what it was all about started. First I logged into LDS.org and typed in "house of faith". This is the first thing that popped up. James 1: 5-6 reads- If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. Let him ask of God...... so in order to have faith one must first have a relationship with our Heavenly Father? So how do I apply this to my family and home in order to make our home a "house of faith"? What better way to strengthen that relationship then to read the scriptures and pray! I will be the first one to say I have never been good about reading my scriptures. I pray often but reading is not something I find time for very often. My scriptures sit right next to my bed on the desk so why can't I pick it up and read? With little ones I think they learn more by example. My goal for the next week is to read the scriptures NOT in the middle of the night when the kids are in bed but maybe take a few minutes before THEIR bedtime and sit and read the scriptures together. We have all heard that faith is like a seed. You have to nurture it, water it and give it light in order for it to grow and I think reading the scriptures is just the key to starting our little faith seed in our own home.

Week to prepare

Each Monday I prepare my weekly menu. Generally I grocery shop on Tuesdays after I have a menu planned and all the items on a shopping list so I know what I am getting. This week I have some really simple recipes planned.

Monday- Best over night. My Nana used to have best over nights when I lived with her. She would pull all the left overs out of the fridge from the week, heat them up according to what each person chose and then toss anything that isn't finished up with this meal. It was a great way to clean the fridge out and also a great way to finish up some meals so hopefully they are not tossed out. I have continued this with my family. Some weeks I am better with this then others. Right now my fridge is PACKED full of food so we will be cleaning it out tonight.

Tuesday- Pork, salad and fruit. I usually can find a pack (usually 6 pieces) of BBQ seasoned/rubbed pork at Maceys for about $3.00. They are not thick cut but perfect for a smaller family. Then I make my own salad and cut up some fruit. The entire meal will cost around $8.00 which is a cheap dinner in my book.

Wednesday- Chicken noodle soup and fresh homemade rolls. I made up this recipe a couple years ago and it is super simple. I will share it soon. The rolls are simple as well! I found an awesome recipe that I will also share soon.

Thursday- Meat loaf. That's right! Meat loaf! My husband loves it and so do the kids. Not my favorite but I never have leftovers from it.

Friday- we always do date night on Friday. Usually if Jason and I don't have something planned we will take the kids out to eat. We always try to stay within a budget and the kids love it.

Saturday- Freezer meal. A few weeks ago the ladies in the neighborhood did a freezer meal swap and I ended up with 8 meals in my freezer all ready to go! Love this and can't wait to do it again.

Sunday- pot roast in the crock pot.

I find that when you plan your meals for a week or even two weeks ahead you will spend less and it is less stress because you don't have the "what do you want for dinner?" question all the time. When that happens at our house we always end up eating out because it is easier so for our health and to save money planning meals is perfect for us.

This week for food storage I found chicken broth (my brother thinks it is funny to stock up on things like that) for about $0.59 cents a can and I have a coupon so I will pick up a case. Next monday I will link my 90 day food storage goal. I am a huge believer to store what you will EAT and not just what ever is on sale. I am working on a spread sheet for it so I will have that ready for next monday. The sun is shining today and the snow is melting so I hope everyone is having a wonderful day!

No posts the last few days because...

This little princess turned 1! There will be a post later today about preparing your week. I usually prepare my week when this little miss goes down for a nap. Could be interesting because her tummy was not happy from all the cake last night so we have already washed her bedding.

Prepare every needful thing~

I feel so unorganized in my life right now. Everything from eating habits to cleaning my house just isn't working for me. I need a change and I need one quick. I have been thinking a lot lately about Doctrine and Covenants 88:119 (organize yourselves and prepare every needful thing). About a year ago I stopped working a desk job to stay home and take care of my kids. This has been such a blessing in our family and so necessary. The only problem is I am used to working full time and being so busy that I often find myself getting short with the kids or annoyed with everything they do. This is my journey to organize my life. Each day will be dedicated to something or some type of project to work on. It could be the same one from the prior week or a new one. Really going off D&C 88:119 which reads~ Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing; and establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God; Monday- prepare every needful thing (such as emergency prep., food storage and preparing for the week etc.) Tuesday- a house of faith, glory, fasting and prayer Wednesday- establish a house of learning Thursday- a house of order Friday- a little family fun Saturday- Organize yourselves (taking care of yourself such as diet and exercise) Sunday- a house of God Lets see were this journey takes my little family. I am very busy but I feel strongly that if I can stick to this and really try that I will be able to find time for myself and find time for my family. I can't promise there will be no spelling errors or grammer errors as this is just not my cup of tea......... well never has been!