Tuesday's checklist

Here it is again. Another tuesday and I already feel behind. This past weekend was crazy with Easter and sick kids. We did have a good weekend, I just didn't get anything done around the house. So that means I have a lot to do this week and really today since I work tomorrow, my dad comes thursday, friday we are going to a kids museum in Salem and saturday is son's birthday party. Here we go:
1. Clean house - bathrooms, floors, windows, kitchen - what a mess!
2. Clean up paper mess downstairs, that is never ending
3. Get kids registered for school next year
4. Sign up for produce basket for summer
5. Make cupcakes to send to school wednesday
6. Schedule sons' yearly checkup
7. Take back library books
8. Get everything I need for party: plates, cups, streamers, party favors, etc
9. Make Millenium falcon cake - still have no clue what I am going to do

That's all I can think of for now. It seems like enough, unfortunately there is probably more to it.

Update on List

I am liking my list so far. I am updating on saturday since this day is pretty much shot and tomorrow is Easter and will be gone all day. Monday's I never get any thing accomplished except work and dinner. So I am guessing I won't get much more done with last week's list. But it has helped to keep me a litle accountable. I think next time, I will print my own list and tape it somewhere so it is a constant reminder to get things done. I feel so much better.
The next few weeks will be soo crazy that I need some accountability. My dad comes thursday morning, Bud's birthday party is saturday. Then we only have 1 1/2 weeks before we leave for PA and I really want the house in some order if my mom and mother in law are going to be staying here.
Man I need to get busy! See you tuesday with my next list.

Tuesday's List

I don't know about you, but tuesday is really the start of my week. Because I work on mondays, it is really a lost day for me. I have always disliked mondays and tend to not get much accomplished. But tuesdays, I am home and have a fresh start to my week. As the sun is beginning to shine, I am feeling motivated to get my house in order. But I need some accountability I think. So my new thing (and we will see how long this lasts) is to make my list on tuesday for what I want to accomplish this week and I will come back and check off things I have done. Today has been a productive morning so I am off to a good start.
Here is my list for this week:
1. Clean bathrooms - I am embarrased to admit this does not get done on a weeky basis - especially the showers/tubs done
2. Change sheets - again, not done on a weekly basis but really should be, DONE
3. Vacuum house, downstairs gets done tuesdays, thursdays and once on weekends due to dog hair, DID NOT DO UPSTAIRS YET, DOWNSTAIRS DONE
4. Make laundry soap - I am excited to try this - done, we will find out tomorrow how it turned out, I have used it once and it seemed to clean okay, we are doing loads of laundry this weekend so will see more after using it a few times
5. Dust downstairs NOT DONE
6. Get control of my paper mess downstairs - SO NOT DONE
7. Exercise 3 times during the week and once on weekends DID 4 TIMES THIS WEEK AND PROBABLY WON'T GET IT DONE THIS WEEKEND
8. Try a new healthy recipe - NOT DONE
9. Start scrubbing kitchen floor - NOT DONE BUT AT LEAST SWIFFERED IT
10. Get organized for Connor's birthday party including figuring out how in the world I am going to make a Millenium Falcon cake - EASTER TOO PRECEDENT THIS WEEK
11. Clean 2 windows completely including sills, blinds and glass - I hate this job and if I break it down into a couple at a time I might get it done, NOT DONE ADD TO NEXT WEEK'S LIST
I think 10 things are a good number. I will keep you posted on my progress and I plan on taking pictures of the laundry soap making process.

Learning

So I just have to say my friend Abby
showed me how to add links without it being obnoxious. Somehow I just couldn't understand the directions Blogger was giving me. Thanks Abby!

Laundry soap

Yes I am thinking of making my own laundry soap. Never before have I thought this would be something I would do. But after researching it and seeing you can make it for 1 cent a load, that means the Tide I just bought would have cost $1.10 instead of $22. How can you beat that? I am picky about my soap so we will see. Here is the link to the recipe I am going to try: laundry soap
I will keep you posted on how it goes. I might even take pictures.

No more diapers for me!

I don't know how many people have seen Potty Power. But that is the song they sing. We have been working and working on Sweet Pea to try to get her to go on the potty but she either refuses or just sits there and does nothing. Fortunately we have a sitter who is very willing to help potty train. The past 2 weeks if she goes potty at the sitters, she gets to put underwear on. The first week she just proceeded to have accidents. But last week she only had one and came home friday in underwear. That was when she sat on the potty for daddy and didn't go then 10 minutes later hid behind a chair and peed all over the place. Boy was he mad!
But she came home in underwear last night and went twice on the potty. Yay! I see the light at the end of the tunnel. How nice for our budget to not have to buy diapers.
Along the same lines. Son rarely sleeps through the night without going in his pullup. We have been waking him up before we go to bed in hopes it would leave him dry in the morning. It worked at first and then he must have adapted and now wakes up wet, although less wet than before. But at Grandma's over the week, he fell asleep on her couch and slept all night without having an accident and he stayed dry in his pullup the next night. So last night we braved it and since he was doing it, Princess wanted to do it as well. (not quite as scary as she often wakes up dry but when we attempted this before she had accidents every night and freaked out because she was wet so we stopped). They both woke up dry!! Yay! Now I really see the light at the end of the tunnel, no more diapers, no more pullups. I can't wait.
Of course, this was only one night but I am going to attempt it all week. It is spring break and son doesn't have to go to school so what better time to do it. Hopefully he will be night trained by his birthday next month.

Global Food Crisis Day

I was listening to Air 1 (a Christian radio station for those who don't know) this morning on my way to work and was struck by the stories that I heard. Today is Global Food Crisis Day and they are joining with radio stations around the world and Compassion International to raise money for starving people/children. It truly broke my heart to hear of women in Haiti using shortening and mixing it with dirt to literally make mud pies to feed their children just so they have something in their stomachs. And people digging in rat holes to find grains of rice that the rats have collected or men who are the supporters of their families to have to tell their children they have no food to give them. They say every 7 seconds a child dies from hunger, not cancer, not AIDS but hunger. Something that we can all do something about. Here is the link to Compassions' website. I am not sure how long they are taking money for this but I imagine it will go longer than just today.http://www.compassion.com/global-food-crisis/?referer=98494&utm_campaign=gfcradio-air1-98494

As a mother this just brought me to tears hearing of these children. I just went to the store and spent $80 for groceries - for one week. According to Compassion, this would feed like 8 children for an entire month.
I cannot imagine having to tell my children I had no food for their tummies or to literally feed them dirt. It makes me see my life in a different way. I am truly blessed and need to remember not to take things for granted.