Daily habits

This post is a part of Focus Check Friday at A Slob Comes Clean.

`This week I noticed some things are becoming, dare I say it, routine. I have managed to make my bed daily, the dishes have continued to be caught up, and I have been doing one to two COMPLETE loads of laundry a day. As a matter of fact my husband was home today and he likes to do laundry, couldn't believe that there really wasn't any for him to do. Okay scratch that, he likes to wash and dry then leave clean clothes in a basket for me to figure out if it is clean or dirty, but at least he tries. This week I am going to try and make a list of new habits I would like and add one a week. I wanted to start getting my kids more involved in helping out, but it has been a struggle. My girls turn into vagabonds (love that word) for the summer and my sons number one motivator has not been working. He hasn't been on the computer in weeks, usually that is enough to get him to at least help clean his room, but not anymore.

`AND...... I have another situation that I would like some feedback on. My niece who is 19 lives with my in laws in my home in the in law apartment. Most days of the week I cook for everyone and we all eat together. I have asked my twelve year old and my niece to help out by washing their own dishes after dinner. Both are refusing to do so. It makes dinner time very stressful for me because I view this as a respect issue. It also makes me feel unappreciated. My twelve year old, after some fighting, I am able to get her to comply, but with my niece, if I say anything, my mother in law will do it for her. AND that is not the point. I tried to explain that my in laws help us out a lot and I enjoy being able to provide them with dinner and even clean up afterwards, it is an opportunity for me to give back to them. My niece on the other hand lives with them free of charge, has meals provided for her at the cost of washing a lousy dish and will not do it. Am I being unreasonable?

`On the plus side negative energy is still energy it's amazing how much scrubbing gets done after dinner.

Thank You Very Much

I saw Thank You Very Much and decided that was some therapy I could use today.

1. I would like to thank the Thank You Very Much post from other bloggers for distracting me from the soup I was making for my mother in law. (It was definitely worth it I needed a good laugh)

2. Thank you very much to my niece after I offered up my home for your party you call someone else two days before the party to find out if you can have it at their house. I'm glad I went out of my way to get things for it and to clean my home so you could enjoy your big day.

3. Thank you very much to the cats Tigger and Binky for leaving an endless trail of fur balls all over the house. Next time you go outside talk to the snake and find out how they shed everything in one shot. It would be a good quality for you to have.

4. Thank you very much to the chicken leg quarters that turned my grill into an inferno and even melted the sides. Nothing like throwing flaming chicken into your yard to try and put a fire out.

Where Oh Where do you go?

` I have been feeling a tad unmotivated lately. Actually a better word might be uninspired. I am motivated I WANT to do. I have been keeping up on the dishes, filing the mail as it comes in, for the first time in my life I have a balanced checkbook, and the laundry is coming along. The problem is the rest of the stuff. When I find the solution to a problem ex. a storage solution I become inspired to do it. When there is no solution I can come up with I walk past the problem twenty times shaking my head hoping the answer will just come to me. Right now for the most part my drawers and cabinets are actually organized, but all the stuff I didn't know what to do with sits on top of my counters, table, buffet, nightstands, etc. taunting me. It is not the everything in it's place that causes me stress, but the place for everything. I have been tossing and tossing and tossing, but there are still things that I know I need to keep I just can't figure out where to put them.

I Don't Want To

` Today I woke up with a serious case of the "I don't want to's". Why is it such a struggle to do such menial things? There are two loads of laundry that need to be folded and put away. It will take me fifteen minutes, but "I don't want to." There are dishes in the sink that will take five minutes, but really "I don't want to." There are drinks in the cooler outside from the weekend that need to be brought in but, "I don't want to." My bedding needs to be washed (and I love the smell and feeling of clean sheets), but "I don't want to." I want to know how come when I work at a job if I see something that needs to be done I just do it. Whether it is part of my job or not. Without debate or an internal argument, I just do it, but when it comes to MY home it is a struggle. So what to do... what to do...

` I will share my crazy way to over come my "I don't want to's." I find a movie or TV show I want to watch. One with commercials and force myself to accomplish as much as I can during the breaks. Silly I know, but lets see what gets done.

Commercial one- Dishes washed

Commercial two- laundry started

Commercial three- cooler emptied (okay 1/2 the cooler)

Commercial four- took recyclables out

Commercial five- finish cooler, put away dishes, emptied hamper in bathroom

Commercial six- Laundry switched

Commercial seven- finished putting away groceries from a couple days ago

Commercial eight- five minute pick up in bedroom

Commercial nine- run clean linens upstairs to the closet

Commercial ten- clean off clothes pile in bedroom

Commercial ten- friend stopped down for coffee so that was the end of the movie. However I think I am just going to have to force myself to watch more TV. I know, I know it will be hard, but I have to do what I have to do.

Summer Hiatus

This post is a part of Focus Check Friday at A Slob comes Clean.

` I can't believe it has been a couple weeks since I last blogged. I really don't know where the time went. My husband started his new run which has him gone 80 hours a week with only Saturday off and my house has become the summer place to be. I love having company but it does add more to my plate. On top of that a medication I was taking kicked my butt to the point where I was exhausted to the point of all I wanted to do was sleep but the sleep I got never seemed to be enough. On a positive note the mail has been getting filed appropriately since my paper purge. Other than that not much has been accomplished.

`This is a new week and I am determined to get back on track. First for all my company I am buying 15 cups for the kids that have been visiting and putting their names on them to cut down on the number of cups I have to wash. I am considering doing plates and bowls too. The older kids are going to be responsible for washing their own dishes and the little ones for putting them in the sink. This will help me keep track of what belongs to whom.

`As far as focus goes, I am in need of motivation. I am to the point where I look around my house and am frozen by "I just don't know where to put the stuff" Stuff is my biggest problem. A couple weeks ago I did a paper purge and it helped so every week during the summer I will do some kind of purge starting with clothes. I have clothes EVERYWHERE. There is not a room in my house that does not have a clothes mess. I did manage to go through mine but the pile I made for Salvation Army is still sitting there. Oh and did I mention I am hosting a graduation party for my niece next Saturday at my house. It should be a fun week.

I am so excited!!!

`Okay not for myself, but for my son. Here's a little background. He is going to be entering third grade and is just slightly below grade level which for him is a huge accomplishment. He entered first grade unable to recognize the alphabet if that gives you any idea how hard he has been working. He is speech and language delayed, has a learning disability pretty much in any area that involves reading and comprehension, and has ADHD. Okay so now why am I so happy? He absolutely loves the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series and anything that makes him love reading I love.

` So as I was researching the summer reading programs offered at Borders and Barnes and Noble I stumbled upon the fact that there is a fifth book in the series being released on November 9. I decided to check Walmart to see if they had better pricing and they did. It was $9 for the book and standard shipping was FREE. The best part about this deal is his birthday is in November. He is going to be one happy kid!!

Realistic Focus

` I am participating in Focus Check Friday at A Slob Comes Clean.

`Last week I was focusing on a paper purge. I was able to get to get quite a bit done, it is still a work in progress. I will continue to work on it this coming week.

` This week I want to focus on making truths out of the lies I tell myself. Number one I recently left my job to be a SAHM. (about four weeks ago) I thought once I was able to stay home I would have ALL this extra time. I vowed to have my house spotless and organized before school let out. I was going to volunteer more, visit friend and family more. In short I had a grand idea of how life would be, but now reality has struck. I have made headway on the house however I don't know where TIME goes to. I get the kids off to school. Do my morning clean up, work on whatever task is on the table for that day and before I know it it is time to pick up the kids again. I feel like I actually have less time than I did when I was working.

` Lie number 2. My husband drives truck for a living luckily it's regional, but from Sunday night til Friday night if he's home it's pretty much to eat, sleep, and shower. He is off Tuesday and Thursday during the day. I avoid doing much around the house for fear of waking him. In reality it's a good excuse to play on the computer without feeling guilty. After all I am doing it for him. A better use of this time would be reading. I attend a weekly bible study, but I am always rushing last minute to get the work done. Which mean I am not fully getting out of the material what I could be.

`Lie number 3. It is better to do nothing than to do something half way. I have found by at least doing something it's always better than it was. I have also found if I work up to at least starting a task it gives me motivation and I am more likely to end up finishing it.

`In short I need to focus on my time management and I need to be more realistic of what I expect of myself. I think I need to do a schedule :( I would say my focus has been building momentum, let's hope it continues.