Household Notebooks/ Home Management Binders

For those of you who use Household Notebooks, I have a few questions?

-is this your only planner?

-do you use a portable planner or what do you carry in your purse?

-is every aspect of your life in the household notebook?

I need to get/make a planner, but I'm not sure what kind.  I need something for to-do lists, calendar, projects list.  I need to incorporate homeschool, writing deadlines, everyday living, church activities, hubby's activities, etc.

So, is it possible to organize all of that into one planner?  Or do I have to have planner for each thing (homeschool, writing, household/everyday).

5:37 PM - Sep. 25, 2007 - comments {8} - post comment

Simplicity Journal

It's Show and Tell Friday time again.  Thanks to kelli @ There's No Place Like Home for hosting it. 

The first time I heard about Simplicity Journals was over at Eyes of Wonder  I remember keeping journals like that when I was younger, but I guess I thought that adults had to keep serious journals.  Here's a peak into mine.

This is the journal that my sister gave me for Christmas a few years ago. She decorated it herself.

The cover page...

This page shows clothes that I love: feminine, modest, and pretty.  Oh the opposite page is a Lane Bryant lingerie add.  I didn't want to post it, for obvious reasons, but that pictures helps me realize that beauty comes in all sizes.

The inspiration for my bedroom, lots of black and white.  The ottoman is something I want my hubby to build me one day.  I have the material, a gorgeous cream striped fabric.

This page is about my mom.  A few months ago we sat down in a cofee shop and had one of the best conversations of our lifes.  That was a turning point in our relationship, and I wanted to remember it.

For me, my journal is a catch-all notebook, scrapbook, planner.  There is no formula, no perfection.  I put everything from to-do lists, school notes, recipe ideas, and more.  Its like an idea file, homemaking binder, and planner all in one.

6:29 AM - Sep. 1, 2007 - comments {3} - post comment

Tackle It Tuesday

9:08 AM - Aug. 28, 2007 - comments {9} - post comment

Bedside Basket of Books

I keep a basket of books by my bed.  I thought I'd share what is in my basket.  The first thing is my big black journal.   My sister decorated it for me, and I fill it full of ideas and dreams, and tons of pictures from magazines.  I'll try to post about it soon...pics included!

And the following books...

My husband thinks this is silly, but I actually do these facercises from time to time.  I've noticed too many older women with lines that seem like they could be avoided.

My sister reccomended this book to me, and its pretty good, so far.

I really struggle with having time with God and cultivating that relationship.  This book has helped me understand the HOW and WHY to having a quiet time

This book is full of ideas that will help any mom keep simple scrapbooks and memory books for her kids.

I use this devotional some days, on others I prefer Oswald Chambers' My Utmost for His Highest.  We keep that book in the bathroom, though :)

And a bunch of magazines...

Figure Magazine - great plus size magazine

Country Living Dec 2005

The Old Schoolhouse Summer 2007

Home Education Magazine March-April 2006

WORLD - August 18, 2007

Better Homes and Gardens (four copies)

Good Housekeeping August 2007 - I bought this because of the main story about women losing half of their body weight.  Very inspirational!

Charisma September 2007

7:46 AM - Aug. 28, 2007 - comments {1} - post comment

Havens of Rest

My challenge as a homemaker is to limit our posessions to what is necessary for living well, so that excess stuff will not consume our thoughts, time, space, and efforts.  My challenge to have less will make my home appealing, beautiful, functional and a place of quiet rest for my family. 

I wrote the above on a tiny notebook with a hot pink pen while I was sitting amidst piles of clutter that had gathered in my never-used dining room.  Why do we let our homes become havens for junk instead of havens for our hearts?  I didn't realize what an impact excess stuff had on me until I realized my frazzled state of mind was due to my frazzled state of house.  Or is the other way around?

When we have to step over piles of junk, when there is no tidy spot for our eyes or bodies to rest upon, then our home is not a haven of quiet rest, but a hell of chaos mess.  We shouldn't expect our precious husbands to live that way, and we shouldn't teach our children that it is an acceptable way to live.  It is our challenge, the homemaker's challenge, to have less and to create rest in our homes.

4:29 PM - Jul. 17, 2007 - comments {2} - post comment

More Goodness

I've done all the boys' closets!! Yeah!  I have 7 trashbags full of clothes that I am sorting, then storing or donating.  That is just crazy.  The clothes that are left for all four boys could probably fit into one trashbag.  So, that means that I got rid of 7/8 of their clothes...that is 87%.  Do you think they can survive on only 13% of their original wardrobe?  Sure hope so!!

I'm getting sick of my blog.  AGAIN!  I'll probably try to make it look like it did before.  I thought I saved the code for it, but I can't find it anywhere.  That means I 'll start from scratch, and work my way up.  We'll see.

2:44 PM - Feb. 27, 2007 - comments {0} - post comment

Children's Wardrobe - Boys

"And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart."  Gal. 6:9

I'm doing lots of good and growing pretty weary.  My living room is covered in clothes.  I'm so tired of the laundry piling up, that I'm seriously trimming down the amount of clothes that the boys have.  I tend to put them in the same 4 or 5 outfits anyway, so now I'm getting rid of all the clothes that they never wear.

I've only completed the 2 olders' closet, and I have three trashbag full of clothes to show for it!  Woo hoo.  When I'm all done, I'll get all the trashbags together, plus all the Rubbermaids full of clothes in storage, and sort them for hand-me-downs.  I'm trying to keep very litte.  The idea is that the kids will have only enough clothes that they'll wear them out as they outgrow them.  Then there wil be no need of hand-me-downs.  Make sense? 

So here's the older boys' wardrobes:

8yo (He has more than anticipated, it could be pared down further!)

-10 socks

-10 underwear (he had 20!!!, how crazy is that!)

-7 play shirts

-5 shorts (for the coming summer)

-4 jeans (for right now)

-3 polos

-3 pjs

-2 long sleeve dress shirts

-2 short sleeve dress shirts

-1 pair of dress pants

-1 hoodie

- 1 sweater

-1 jacket/coat

-1 pair of dress shoes

-1 pair of tennis shoes

-1 baseball uniform

-1 pair of practice baseball pants

2YO

-10 socks

-7 play shirts

-5 jeans (1 is camo)

-5 pjs

-2 dress shirts (1 has a sweater vest with it)

-2 polos

-1 sweater

-1 hoodie

-1 jacket/coat

-1 pair of tennis shoes

Now, I have to do the baby clothes, which will be much harder.  I've had three boy babies in two and a half years....there are a lot of BLUE baby clothes here!!!

6:18 PM - Feb. 26, 2007 - comments {2} - post comment

Laundry Schedule

I've had to figure out some way to make laundry more manageable.  So, I've come up with a schedule. 

M:  sheets (3 loads)

T:   towels & baby clothes (2 loads)

W:  boys' clothes (2 loads)

Th:  adult clothes (2 loads - whites & blacks)

F:    adult clothes (2 loads - lights & reds)

S:   towels & misc. (2 loads)

8:24 AM - Aug. 16, 2006 - comments {3} - post comment

Homemaking Sites

I'm in the process of building my homemaking notebook and I've found some great sites with lots of homemaking & child rearing tidbits.

http://www.xanga.com/MrsCatherine

http://www.dmoz.org/Home/Homemaking/Christian/

http://www.frugalhomemaker.com/

http://www.linesfromthevine.com/

http://myblessedhome.blogspot.com/

8:20 PM - Jul. 25, 2006 - comments {5} - post comment

Woo-Hoo

I'm on a roll, yep, yep, yep!  We are hosting our first ever large family holiday gathering for Resurrection Sunday.  So, I'm using that as an excuse to get some things done.  I just finished sewing a beautiful drape for my dining room.  I still have to finish the other one, but I am so excited!  It is a gorgeous gold, green, and red plaid silk dupioni pinch pleated drape.  Woo-Hoo!  You could say that I'm proud of myself.  I've had the fabric for about a year, but I've been putting off making the drapes because of my extreme fear of failure. 

Well, I did it, and it turned out great!  I'll post pictures as soon as we can get our Kodak software installed again. 

12:54 PM - Apr. 13, 2006 - comments {1} - post comment

Kitchen Appliances Go On Strike

In an alarming move, the kitchen appliances of an area home have decided to strike against their management.  The appliances site change of management as their primary concern.  Surprisingly, the ringleader is the dishwaser, a small and unassuming appliance.  Despite the fact that this appliance has only been working in this home for mere months, it has found a reason to be disatisfied with its service in said home.  

The revolt began three weeks ago, after the Chief Appliance Operator (CAO) was ordered to go on bedrest.  The Assistant to CAO was required to take over all appliance operation.  Apparently, the appliances were not happy with this change of management.  The quiet dishwasher began blinking which indicated a call to a service person.  Management bacame weary and frustrated when the unbiased service person took almost two weeks to begin the arbitration.  After consulting with the dishwasher, the service person concluded that a new part was to be ordered.  Now, both managment and appliance are simply waiting...it will be a long stand off that will involve handwashing dishes three times a day, at least.  The only positive is that this new appliance is still under service warranty.

Recently, the refrigerator decided to join the dishwasher's call for attention. It took a  less dramatic approach, and slowly dropped its core temperature over the past 48 hours.  Management has tried negotiating with the appliance, but to no avail.   A replacement appliance will be brought in to save the stock in the freezer section of the unit.  Management had been considering bringin in a seperate freezing appliance for sometime now, however this new turn of events has hastened their decision.  Hopefully, the new freezing appliance will not be heckled as it crosses the strike line. 

The Assistant to the CAO has been diligent in his efforts to calm the appliances, meet their demands, and do so with the least impact on the home's finances.  The CAO is now off of bedrest and continues to coax the appliances into realizing that the change of management was indeed, temporary.  With a little negotiation and a lot of guidance from Upper Managment, this situation should be resolved quickly.

11:31 AM - Feb. 7, 2006 - comments {1} - post comment

Rooster Stuff

The boys are at church, and I'm home with the baby.  He's doing well by the way.  So what do I do with my "free" time?  Surf the internet, of course.  I've been looking for cool rooster stuff for my kitchen, and I've hit the jackpot at www.allposters.com.  Most of their 8x10 prints are only $5.99.  Woo-hoo. 

So, now I need help choosing prints for my kitchen.  I can't decide which direction to go in, traditional or more eclectic.  I want to make sure that I choose something that will look just as good in three years.  I don't want to be redecorating becuase I'm tired of looking at something.  So, help me choose which rooster prints I should use...Here are pictures of my new light fixture in the kitchen (plus a rooster on my table).  Check it out to see which prints would go best.  Also, realize that the curtains in the kitchen will be changed eventually. 

Set 1 - Stylized background w/ French wording.   

Set 2 - Less stylized, no wording, more classic

Set 3 - Four "mediterranean" styled roosters.  More bold colors, less black/white

Set 4 - More country, subdued colors - also these are $12.99, and 12x12.  Square pics are harder to find frames/mats for.  These will much more expensive in the long run.

Set 5 - Very traditional, more likely to stay in style. Less distinct color pallete, so easy to change around.  Also, these are 8x8, hence harder to find frames for.

Set 6 -  Black, bold and traditional...

Okay, let me know what you think...

12:30 PM - Feb. 5, 2006 - comments {3} - post comment

Virtual Tour - Living Room Bookshelves

I'm sure no one is actually interested in how my bookshelves look (except my sister), but here's a picture anyway.  My hubby painted them and mom and I loaded them up the other day.

11:58 PM - Jan. 14, 2006 - comments {1} - post comment

Projects Galore

My husband has painted the living room and it really makes our house feel like "ours", not my parents.  My parents were looking to move into town and have less land to care for, so they offered us their house at a discounted price.  With the housing market the way that it is, we really wouldn't have been able to afford something this nice. 

Its a big 3 bedroom, 2 bath, 2000 sq.ft.  We have a cute litle breakfast area, where my mother's curtains are still hanging up.  Mainly because I haven't made the kitchen curtains, yet.   But, it really is beautiful in the morning when the sun comes through those windows.  Everything looks warm and inviting.

Here's the list of projects to finish before the baby comes in January.

Living Room

* paint bookcases

* find fabric/ sew draperies

* make floral arrangements for mantel

* find focal point (picture, old window...) for mantel

Dining Room

* sew draperies (buy lining, thread, hardware)

* paint "something" under chairrail

Kitchen (this will probably NOT happen)

* paint walls, stencil overlay

* age cabinets

* replace/ paint hardware

* tile countertop

* sew valances

Master Bedroom

* paint old window black, for above the bed

* clean & declutter

* hang pics, add candles, etc

* organize closet

Little Ones Room

* hang shelves, add accessories

* buy white sheets for twin bed

* clean out closet

* organize clothes for Sam and new baby

* stencil Bible verse above crib & twin bed

JD's Room

* hang baseball pictures

* clean out toys to sell

* organize closet

Sunroom

* declutter & organize

* paint

* sew curtains

Misc

* organize pictures & scrapbook supplies

* make marshmellow guns for Christmas (5)

* make stepping stones for grandparents' Christmas

Ok, so you can see that all of this probably won't get done.  I am in over my head.  But, the house is looking more and more like our house, so I'm happy. 

8:59 AM - Oct. 26, 2005 - comments {0} - post comment