Sunday, May 30, 2010

8 ways to find motivation @ home.

  I came across this awesome post over at simple mom.  I found it SO inspiring I thought I'd share it. As moms we all struggle with staying sane & finding a good balance.  Hope you enjoy this as much as I did!



Written by Tsh Oxenreider

Here are a few ideas to fight off the apathy, the lack of interest, or the plain ol’ annoyance at the cyclical nature of your job as home manager.

1. Remember that it’s a job.

When someone asks where you work, don’t answer, “I don’t work; I stay at home.” Instead, answer, “I work at home.” When you manage your home, plan the meals, handle the finances, juggle the calendar, and make sure that family members enter the world relatively groomed and sanitized, you work a lot. Think of yourself as the COO of the home. If your home was Home, Inc., how would you rate your performance in a quarterly review?

2. Start your day with a realistic morning routine.


Photo by Bill Israel
Seasons in life call for flexibility, change, and not doing what you want all the time — but do your best to write down a weekday morning routine for starting your day. Whether it be working out, reading your Bible and journaling, going on a walk, or simply showering and getting dressed before the family wakes up, do what you can to prepare yourself for a day of work.

3. Eat your frog.

After your morning routine, attack that one thing you dread the most. Is it laundry? Start a load of wash right away, and make it your goal to get clean clothes in their closets by lunchtime. Do you need to pay the bills but can’t stand the work involved? Jump on it right away — the weight will be off your shoulders for the rest of the day once they’re paid.

4. Find inspiration…

Spend a few minutes reading blogs that encourage you in your job as home manager. Flip through some home magazines you enjoy to motivate you to clean up the clutter. Set a timer as you do this, so that you know when it’s time to actually put your found inspiration to work.

5. …But, don’t let those blogs and magazines discourage you.

It’s easy to throw in the towel before you even start your work when you read about other moms that seem to do everything, or look at glossy pages with gorgeous, stain-free furniture. If you’re a perfectionist, like me, you might especially be prone to not doing anything at all if you think you can’t do it expertly. If this is you, make a point to not open your laptop or a magazine until a certain chunk of your checklist is crossed off.

6. Leave the house.


Photo by Rob
Are you frozen with discouragement as you trip over the carpeting of Lego and stare at the pile of lunch dishes? Are your kids restless with energy, full of wiggles needing release? Get a change of scenery. Go to the park. Go on a walk. Go to a friend’s house. Sometimes fresh air will do all of you a world of good.

7. Evaluate what you’re about.

Perhaps you feel lazy about starting your work because you feel like you have so much to do, with no sign of completion. Are you trying to do too much? Is the goal of your job to have a sparkling house, spotless kids, and a three-course meal every evening? Are you losing the love of your game? Maybe it’s time to sit down and create a family mission statement. Decide who you are as a family. Let that be your guide for what you prioritize during your working hours.

8. End your work day.

It’s hard to see the end in sight, and there are sleepless nights peppered in our work weeks because of sick kiddos, nursing infants, or willful toddlers. But do what you can to end your work at a reasonable hour in order to spend time with your spouse, recharge your batteries with some adult (or alone) time, and get adequate rest for tomorrow.
Everyone has valleys in life, when your spark has waned a bit, and you’ve forgotten what it’s like to love your calling. Your love is probably still there, somewhere. Do what you can to find it, instead of running your batteries on obligation. Everyone in your family will thank you.

 

Thursday, May 27, 2010

did you know...text google!

my husband has one of those fancy, fun blackberry's for a phone,  I definitely want one, but don't need one so I'll have to get my fix by "borrow" his a few times a day!  :--)  Anyways, one cool thing my Brother & Sister in law told me about is TEXTing  google to get answers to your questions.  For instance say you want to see the movie times or get a phone number for the pizza place in town...they'll give you an answer/phone number in a matter of seconds! Here is how it works (standard text messaging rates apply)

In the TO section of the text message write: 46645
say I want to know what the weather will be like today.  I write "weather 50010" and within a few seconds, I'll know!  so cool.

From local business listings to stock quotes, you can get the information you're looking for with Google SMS.
Text message your search query to 46645 ("GOOGL" on most devices) and we'll text message back your results. Try our interactive demo below and view results on the phone image as you would on your own mobile device.

Click here to see a demo of what i mean! 

Isn't that cool?!  I now have 46645 as a contact under Google!  

Hope you enjoy this little trick!  :-)





Wednesday, May 26, 2010

two ideas + an update

5 Min. Brownies

One goal I have this summer is try and make more items from scratch--I'm not going to lie, that scares me a little.  :-)  I might make this for get together this weekend.  Looks SO good and EASY!





Ingredients:

2 cups sugar
1 3/4 cups flour
1/2 cup cocoa
1 teaspoon salt
5 eggs
1 cup oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup chocolate chips

Directions:

In a mixing bowl combine first 7 ingredients; beat until smooth.  Pour into greased 9x13 pan.  Sprinkle with chocolate chips.  Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted near center comes out cleans.  Thanks The Tidy Nest!





 I thought this idea so cute and of course, EASY! :-)  See a theme with all my ideas I post?!? Click here to see how its made!









Remodel Update: 
My kitchen floor is drying as we speak.  I am taking the day off tomorrow then one more hard day on Friday then we are DONE with the big stuff.  We'll have to work on the garage, unpack and reorganize our storage unit, but compaired to what we just did those are small potatoes!! :-) I have SO much to blog about backdating to the end of April with family events, graduation, trips, mothers day etc. 

LATER!B

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

lack of blogging.

I have been a horrible blogger lately.  I really miss my creative outlet--- but have some other pressing responsibilities to deal with first.  I hope to after June 1st things start to get back to a routine...any sort of routine would be a blessing right now! :-)   The reason for my absence....






Remodeling:

We are roughly 90% DONE with our remodel...CANNOT wait to be done.  They always take more time then you'd like!










Garage Sale:
I am preparing for a garage sale this Saturday that I am doing with my family & Ryan's family.  Also, if any one of you want to put some items in, just let me know!












Moving:
And we are roughly 90% moved!  It is so hard being in the "in-between" state when you dishes are packed, you accidentally packed the diapers and you can't find your hair dryer!

 







As my Boppa puts it we have been ":farming out" Tucker the last couple of weeks during the day so we can get all this done, and its Ryan's BUSY time so life is pretty crazy right now, but God is so good in blessing us in little ways the last couple of weeks.   I really can't wait til my only job is "tuckers mom" again! :-)  With any luck that'll be sometime next week!!

Okay, Later Tators.  I am on my way to Cedar Rapids area tonight to see my sisters music concert with her kiddos @ her elementry school.

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Midwest Appraisals 1st Birthday!


Our Appraisal company, Midwest Appraisals just celebrated its 1st birthday on May 1st! It was a good year (Praise the Lord)--- we learned alot about what it takes to own your own company. It definetly is a family company, even Tucker gets to help by going to take house comparable pictures with his momma regurarly! I surprised Ryan with a mini cake with a little "1" candle and a card for the day. We even scored a date night with Uncle Riley coming to babysit and went to a movie. Thanks uncle riley! :-)

Happy Birthday Midwest Appraisals!

Posted by Picasa

right in the thick of it


This is what our house looks like right now. Not fun, but it is coming along! We are *hoping* to be done by a week from tomorrow. We'll see! :-)


Posted by Picasa

Sunday, May 9, 2010

Few fun things + teacher appreciation/thank you gift ideas!

Few Fun Finds of the Week:

Bacon & Cheese Egg McMuffin Cups.

These would be perfect for a brunch or family get together--and the best part??? they only require FOUR ingredients.  yah! Even if you aren't a fan of runny eggs (i.e. my hubby! ;-)  you can still scramble them to make a mean morning dish.  Click {here} for the directions.  enjoy!





                             
Printable Family Wall Decor:

                       I thought this was really neat!   All you need is a fun 8 X 10 picture frame, a printer and a place to put it!  They let you print house of ... (2-7)   Click {here} for the details.












                              
numbered flower pots 
Click the link above to find out how to make the numbered flower pots.  I thought this was really a cute idea.  I will definitely be making one of these this summer!





I LOVED this idea! This would be a unique wedding gift, anniversary, or birthday gift! You can give that newlywed a lot of fun, creative date nights!

So many fun possibilities!! Click here to see the ideas/date ideas.

now...I am planning on making these for future wedding gifts.  Although I thought I'd switch it up a little bit instead of 'can of dates' I'm going to write on the can 'our first Christmas' and in the can include...
It's a Wonderful Life DVD
Two Coffee Mugs with hot chocalote mix
A Christmas cookie cutter
Sugar Cookie recipe
A Christmas CD 
A Mistletoe Toe
A Christmas ordainment that says 'our first Christmas'
ETC... (if you have any other ideas please let me know!!)

loved that idea!
Teacher Appreciation/Thank You's!

 With the end of the school year & church activities coming to an end, show your appreciation for all their hard work!!  Here are just a couple ideas.  

Beach Towel Gift:

This idea is so stinkin' easy but so thoughtful! All you need is:
Ribbon
Sunscreen
Magazine
Beach Towel

...you could even "boy" this idea up and get a beach towel, ESPN magazine with a red bull or something like that.  love it! Click {here} for the details!

One of my new favorite blogs it eighteen25.  They have the cutest ideas with free printables including step by step directions on how to get it accomplished.  here are just a few of the ideas.  check out their blog {here} to see what i mean!


BASEBALL CUPCAKES:
Thought these looked so cute! how fun would these be for a baseball party, or a baseball themed birthday party? Click on the link for directions!
Super Easy Wheat Bread

Can't wait to try this recipe!  Click the link for the directions! Who doesn't love the smell of homemade bread?!

Click {here}to score some free printable birthday cutouts!  They have both boy & girl freebies.  What a cute idea flipping peanut butter cups and putting a printable on top!


Happy day to you!



Wednesday, May 5, 2010

printable bookplate

click {here} to print these free printable bookplates.  You could print them on sticker paper and give them as a gift set for a little girl!

On a personal note:
  I had to take a break from painting, pulling carpets, etc for a second.  Things are really starting to take shape--its looking better already.  We are *hoping* to be done by next Friday. (Lord willing!!)  However, I need a shoutout to my husband.  He is so stinking amazing & talented its hard to believe.  There isn't ANYTHING he can't fix or do.  okay, break time is over! 

Later!


Sunday, May 2, 2010

a day late and a dollar short...(May Day)


 MAY DAY

when I was a little kid we always did may day baskets.  this year it completely slipped my mind.  I get a kick out of doing/making stuff for the grandparents/aunts/uncles & close friends! Today is May 2nd, bummer! However, next year I will try to make these.  So darn cute! click here to see step-by-step instructions.  

Happy Belated May Day!

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...