Working on that Spark

bMy DH came home from night school as I was emptying the dishwasher and reloading it, it was around 10pm and the kitchen was still a mess from dinner, I had a rough night with Monkey so I just started to cry a little.  We all know that cry, where you are too tired to stand but can't sit still.  He asked me what’s wrong, I told him I was tired, that I don't get to sit down till after 10 and he is just watching me clean.  I hate that.  I told him I need help with the house (saving you a lot of details, I am sure you know this argument/plea just as well as yours prayers) and the outcome is DH will now be making half to most of the dinners in our house.

I also told him that I miss him.  My DH goes to school two nights a week, thank the Lord this is his last year. I get like this ever few months while he is in school. So for now on I will be getting up at 5:30 to help make lunch with DH so we can have some one-on-one time.

I love my husband!

Finding that spark…again

I truly fully believe that the Lord is the one and only matchmaker.  I have been with my DH since I was 19.  At the age of 19, I didn’t know who I was; I am still learning who I am.  But as I mature and figure who I am, I only fall more in love with my husband which completely amazes me.  How did God know that I was going to need a man like my husband before I knew? But even with God’s love our marriage still needs TLC.  As we are always changing and growing people, our marriage changes and sometimes we need to find that passion again.  Once Monkey was born our relationship was put on auto polite, we had to learn how to be parents then learn how to juggle everything a child.  Now that we have mastered that, it’s time to turn off the auto polite and find that chemistry that started this relationship almost 10 years ago. It’s not easy, our likes and taste has changed, in fact it’s probably harder to light that spark again for the second time.  The first time, well we both were in great shape lol and we didn’t have many responsibilities (stress free) plus we had money to burn lol.  I’m thinking this is normal and healthy in a relationship and I am sure we will need to find that spark again in another decade.

Here is how I lost an hour last night

So I was SUPPOSE to clean my living room and basement last night right…. Instead I cleaned both bedrooms and bathrooms. Sure I always clean those room so they could have missed a week but I had to change the sheets.... if I am gonna change the sheets, I might as well dust real fast first then change the sheets, and since I see the dust on the floor, the floor needs to be vacuumed but before I vacuum I of course have to take the extra step and empty the garbage cans and before you know it I spend over an hour cleaning two bedrooms when all I wanted to do was change the sheets!

The same logic worked with the bathroom, I wanted to take a shower but before I take a shower I should just.. and since I have the toilet cleaner in my hand I should do the downstairs toilet..

The problem is I still need to clean my living room and basement since people are coming over Saturday night! I am busy tonight, so I guess that means Friday night's fish taco are postpone and I will be eating pizza while cleaning :)

Do you have any “personal assistance”?

I have a few and always in the market for more help balancing my life.

1) Without my Google Calendar, I might not know what day of the week it is lol.  I have been using this calendar for about 2 years now and still 100% in love with it.

PROs

It’s easy to use and easy on the eyes

It’s free on the internet

You can add and share other people’s calendar!! (my church is using it too so I can see upcoming events!)

Sync up to my phone

CONs

The app cost $5.99 onetime fee (but you don’t need the app)

Every though my calendar is out there for my family and friends to see, they still don’t check it lol (I don’t think any softwear will help :)

2) Apps!! I have Birthday-n- Anniversary List/Reminder (Occasions App) which I keep up-to date with and use all the time.  (I am a believer in sending out birthday cards for EVERYONE).  It syncs up to facebook and my contact list, I can add what that person likes and dislikes, email/call all from the app.

3) The second app that I love is my Shopper App, it’s not just for grocery (actually I really don’t even use it for groceries lol) it’s for everything that I need/want but waited for that item to go on sale, really every time I think I want to buy… goes into this app because 5 minutes later I will forget whatever it is I want to buy.

4) When you have lots of things to do, you must use Toodledo! It’s my to-do list that has alarm reminders, enough said, my phone beeps when something is due with the next 10 minutes.

PROs

It’s easy to use and easy on the eyes

It’s free on the internet

You can send an email to it and it will add a task!

Sync up to my phone

CONs

The app cost $2.99 onetime fee (it’s worth it)

You still have to do whatever the task is :)

5) My best friend that I couldn’t live without for me it’s my iphone, I love my phone. First the 4 things I mention above are all on my phone, so they wouldn’t be as useful because I have everything in one place. Even besides that I have 24/7 access to my emails (personal emails are blocked at work)
A) The camera is alright (esp if you are without your digital) it has zoom and edited and you can upload it to Kodak
B) 99% of  the apps are amazing (app store rocks)
C) I updated my address book to my contact list so I can always have grandma’s address on hand, comes in handy when you are always mailing birthday cards.
D) you can talk on the phone while still using the phone which happens way to often
E) my local supermarket has an app where I can see the current flyer and create a shopping list
D) and I wish everything in life was like this) you can get new updates on the phone without buying a new phone.

If my day goes perfect…….

I will get all my daily work done in the morning

Bible study during my lunch break

Work on reports in the afternoon

Talk to my BFF on the way home

Stop Home to turn on the pot of water (already filled and waiting)

Pick up Monkey

Come home finish cooking pasta (pesto pasta and salad for dinner)

Paint the letter “M” with Monkey

Give Monkey a bath

Let Monkey play while I clean out his closet

Bedtime routine with Monkey

Do one load of laundry

Clean kitchen, make meatless cowboy chili for tomorrow’s dinner

Hopefully be done at 9 to relax on the couch while making laundry soap and watching teen mom with a cup of tea

Sneak Peak at my weekend

There really isn’t a “time frame” but I try getting things done and work around Monkey’s nap schedule

Saturday is explore the world day:  
1) We don’t eat breakfast as a family during the week so Saturday we have one big breakfast, usually my DH is in charge ;). 

2) After breakfast I like to get my food shopping done as early as possible.  Like all moms I am a better shopper by myself, alone, this way I can think. And this gives some time for daddy and son to play and bond.

3) Next we like to take a nice walk, usually my goal is to get Monkey nice and tired for his nap lol

4) While Monkey is napping I try to work out, shower, bible study

5) Once Monkey is up from his nap then it’s lunch time and off to explore the world.

Sunday is stay home and have family fun day!

1) We don’t get home from church till 11:30ish after that Monkey needs to let his crazy out to we talk a walk or go to a fast food play house.

2) Next is nap time for Monkey while I try to read the paper and work out.

3) After Monkey wakes up from his nap, it’s usually another daddy and son time while I prep for that night’s dinner.

4) Then family comes over, we play and enjoy each other’s company.

5) We end the night by watching HBO/stars/showtime series ;)

And that is my perfect weekend, lots of play and lots of love!

Sneak Peak at my day as a Working Orthodox Mom

5:30 DH & I wake up- Morning prayers and Scriptures

6:00 Wake up Monkey, then the three of us will cuddle on our bed while Monkey drinks his milk, then I need to do my 5 minute yoga stretch, get ready for work, breakfast, etc.

7:15 the 3 of us are out of the house, drop Monkey off at the babysitter then off to work.  Fun Fact~ I drive in complete silence every morning; this is where I gather my thoughts for the day.

7:45 I arrive at work, I actually eat my breakfast at work, a little makeup and hair, check blog and sales.
Fun Fact~ I only have ONE cup of coffee a day!

8:00 till 4:30 working

4:30 run out of the office as fast as I can, usually have chit chat time with a friend or family member, and pick up Monkey from babysitters

5:15 Home! Monkey needs mommy time right away so I do a Dinner minute while holding him (I usually have dinner done the night before, so it needs little prep work, maybe just turn on a pot of water (which was also filled the night before)) then I can give Monkey 15 minutes of my undivided attention while dinner is cooking.

5:30-6 Dinner time! Even when it's cereal night, we eat dinner as a family.

6-6:45 Playtime/Monkey Lesson

6:45-7 Bed time routine with Monkey then bible study for me

7ish-8ish Shower/Clean/Laundry/Prep for the next day (it’s amazing on how much I get done in ONE hour!)  

8ish-10 Couch & Hubby Time while reading, folding, chopping vegetables, doing paperwork, working on Monkey Lessons (you can do a lot while sitting on the couch lol) *Expect for one night a week, my cleaning night where I clean the whole house from top to bottom

Hopefully 10:00 sometimes earlier Sleep  I sleep like a baby, I hardly move for 7 hours wonder why :) Fun Fact~ 4 out of 5 days I fall alseep on the couch until DH is ready for bed.  We are always in the same room, I think that helps with our lives being so busy.

Side Note~ I really didn’t have a choice in this schedule, I have to work and DH and Monkey need love and attention so God really built this schedule, it just took me a few months to recognize it. Once we found our schedule all three of us is happy because we have time for each other.

Can't wait to say goodbye to January

This month is almost over and I can't wait! I am not a fan of January.  We always have a harder time staying afloat, the gas bill and the credit card bills are higher but this year we didn’t have to dip into the savings account to pay the bills. I didn’t pay the credit cards completely off but it will have to do until we get our taxes

We have cabin fever too, it’s dark outside by the time I get home, so no late walks or kicking the ball even during the weekend I only let Monkey play an hour at a time outside, it’s just too cold. He does love the snow! The snow is about to his belly, he was trying to climb the snow bank that, he keep saying “step” “step” then he would say “stuck” “stuck” “me” “Me” “mommy out” I was cracking up. He also enjoys throwing it too. Monkey would grab the snow, run right up to you then count “2..3” finally throwing a tablespoon of snow at our legs and laughing running away.

I did have or attained a dinner party every weekend this month! Well expect for this weekend, just my brother is hopefully going to come over. I also have been having more lunch dates with a couple of friends which has been great. I feel blessed to have so many love ones in our lives that I can see so often.    

We also got a new computer this month, I just wish I had more time to play with it lol

What will February bring?

Offering Help

Why do I offer people help all the time? When these people think I can be “odd” (that’s prob saying it nicely) at some times? Let’s not even mention that it’s not my problem but I put myself out there to help, rearrange my schedule because I want to. I never evening think about me, I just want to help others. I offer advice and time and yet no one takes me seriously.  Maybe they think I am bloating because I really don’t complain about my problems to others (I pray about my small headaches or blog about them lol) And yet people will always say “Amanda’s perfect, always on top of things” which hurts because I am nowhere near perfect, I just stay focus on what’s important my family and God. I am not trying to say I have all the answer, but I can help, once a problem is addressed I like to come up with a game plan to fix it. I try to help other mommas to see that all you need is faith and that God will provide.

This is my help for problems at home?

First pray about your problems! Ask for strength for the entire family, guidance to get your family back on the right path. Go to church together as a family.

Second have a family day (Sunday) once a week. Spend the entire day together from morning to night. That included whatever daily chores, do it as a family.

Next spend some one on one time with each of your family members. Even if it's just food shopping, everybody loves special attention.

Finally don't forget about yourself! We all need to recharge.

I hide...

BOOKS around my house. I can never predict when I will get an extra 5-10 minutes to myself but when I do I like to be prepared.  I always have a cookbook the I'm reviewing in the kitchen, some sort of mom/child book in Monkeys room, a bible study book in my bedroom, and of course a current magazines in the bathroom. So while my DH and Monkey are playing nicely in the living room and I am done cleaning the kitchen I can pull out my current cookbook (Sneaky Chef) and relax with a cup of tea, both boys think I am still cleaning so they don’t both me lol.  I try to give Monkey some independent playtime a day, so I lock up both of us in his room (safest room in the house) and let him make the biggest mess he can, I don’t mind because I have a book (Happiest Toddler on the block) to keep me happy. 

How to you sneak extra mommy time? What do you do with it?

Hello 2011

Here are some things that I am looking forward to in 2011

1.     Starting bible study

2.     New England Vacation in June

3.     2011 Monkey Lesson

4.     Hopefully no more diapers by the end of the year

5.     Hopefully saving some money

Good Bye 2010

Now that 2011 is here I like to look back to where I was last year and what I wanted to accomplish in 2010

Family

After church on Sundays, stay home and enjoy our house together as a family. Done-Check

Food

Eat more vegetables. In the summer I started adding spinach to our lunch sandwich and I drink a V8 a day but I still feel we could eat more vegetables.

Exercise

I did really well in this department from Jan-July but something happened in August (I don’t even know what) but I feel off schedule and never got fully back on track.  I still use the nordictrack once a week for 20 mins but that’s not enough.

Lunch Break

It is amazing on how much stuff you can get done during your lunch break.  I think it’s one of the “pros” about working; you get 30-60 minutes to do whatever you want or need to do.  I can read, call a friend, paint my nails, take a prayer walk, library, run errands, go to the store without a baby (heaven), or have lunch with co-workers.   What do you or would you do on your lunch break?

Happy Monday

It was nice having a week off with my family; we didn't do anything crazy we just spend every minute together, which I love.  I also love working, I believe me working makes me a better momma and wifey. This is what works for my family and God made every family different. My husband doesn't expect the world out of me and I have a lot of energy to play with Monkey when I get home from work. And the weekends, forget it I don't sleep on the weekend, that might be a reason why I love working, it's the only place where I can relax lol j/k

I have a lot of work to do, it's month end and I was off last week (I wish my clients were off last week too). Lucky I have my Christmas music, dinner cooking in the crock pot, and left over cheesecake in the fridge ;).  Happy Monday 

Chit Chat Time

I used to be a huge texter (texter is a person who has over 500 texts in one month) because I am so busy and have a lot of friends and family that I stay contact almost daily.  I am not a fan of talking on the phone while other people are in the room; I just find that rude to no end. And when I am home I give all my attention to my DH and son. I thought by texting was the perfect solution but then I saw how much I was paying for a  texting plan and it made me sick to my belly and I friend reminded me that you lose something when you have to type, you can’t really express yourself and truly enjoy a good laugh.  I have a 15 minute commute from the office to my house so now I call a friend or family member and just chat about whatever; Chit Chat Time. Today start a new billing cycle and with God’s help I pray I will have less than 200 texts which means I can lower my text plan and save $10 a month, that’s $10 more I can give to tithe.  

Grading myself

Every since Monkey has been born I realized how busy life can get and I am very bless to have so many people in our lives but when you have lots of love you also have full calendar and before you know it a whole month has gone by with in a blink of an eye. For a while I was having a hard time balancing my life, there were periods where I spent too much time with my friends and my family would complain (rightful so) or vise visa. So I set up a Google calendar so all of my friends and family have access to my chaotic life, but that wasn’t enough my life was still feeling lopsided. I needed a way to make sure I was balanced not just so every has their fair share of me but for my sanity as well. Then I created my grading system;  all during the month I use my Google calendar, I will take note when Dh and I had our bar date (in our basement) or when I had a cup of tea with my BFF (even tho my life is busy I try to keep it simple like home dates and tea breaks), this way at the end of the month I can review where I spent my time and where I need to spend more time in the next month.

I broke it down into 5 categories; Faith, Family, Friends, Momma, and Wife. Then I simply count how many dates, events, and outings I have had during that month, for each event it’s a grade.  For example, I only had two date with my DH so under the Wife category I get a C which means I need to spend more time with my DH in October or we won’t be a happy couple but I will make it a C+ since we didn’t get into any fights ;).  

For September

Faith: B+

Family: A+ (this was an easy category this month due to lots of birthday’s)

Friends: A+ (another easy category this month due to my BFF’s wedding)

Momma: A+  (Monkey never complains)

Wife: C+

I also look at our bank accounts, see we paid any unnecessary fee’s (late fees, ATM fee’s overdraft) or spending, how much did we paid towards our debit and how much did we save, how much did we add to our debits.

Money: C+ (see BFF’s wedding and family birthdays lol)  

Is It too early

to start thinking about Christmas! Ok I have been thinking about xmas since July 5th so I would be lied when I said "start thinking" lol. Tomorrow is October 1 which means in my house Christmas planning and shopping will begin. Christmas is going to be tight this year, I put money aside from every paycheck into "HealthCare & Xmas" savings account. 2010 has been a bad health year for us, Monkey has been on the ambulance (very expensive!) and the ER. Also DH had an outer-ear infection and needed to see a specialist twice of course thats after seeing his primair twice. So needless to say that savings account is at bare mininaml.  The sad fact is that is also our Chirstmas money too :( but atleast our bills are paid.  I have already bought a few gifts during the year so that will help and I refuse to put Christmas gifts on credit cards, that's just silly. So my plan is to make candles, I have been saving the glass baby food and fruit food jars and I have been working on another sercet project for my family
to start thinking about Christmas! Ok I have been thinking about xmas since July 5th so I would be lied when I said "start thinking" lol. Tomorrow is October 1 which means in my house Christmas planning and shopping will begin. Christmas is going to be tight this year; I put money aside from every paycheck into "HealthCare & Xmas" savings account. 2010 has been a bad health year for us; Monkey has been on the ambulance (very expensive!) and the ER. Also DH had an outer-ear infection and needed to see a specialist twice of course that’s after seeing his primary twice. So needless to say that savings account is at bare minimal.  The sad fact is that is also our Christmas money too :( but at least our bills are paid.  I have already bought a few gifts during the year so that will help and I refuse to put Christmas gifts on credit cards, that's just silly. So my plan is to make candles, I have been saving the glass baby food and fruit food jars and I have been working on another secret project for my family. I might not be rich but at least I am creative.

So why do I start Christmas planning and shopping soo early for two reason 1) Christmas Lent starts in the middle of November, so I rather spend my extra time with prayers and reading the scriptures 2) it's the busiest time of the year.  If I have a hard time balancing Faith, Family, and Friends in September, you don't want to see me in December.

I love making list so here is my Christmas To-Do List for the next two weeks
1) create a budget and list of people I will be shopping for
2) brainstorm and gather information for the people on my shopping list to get the best gift I can with my money
3) fill out Christmas card (which I bought in February)
. I might not be rich but atleast I am creative.

So why do I start Chirstmas planning and shopping soo early for two reason 1) Christmas Lent starts in the middle of November, so I rather spend my extra time with prayers and reading the scrupitres 2) it's the busiest time of the year.  If I have a hard time balancing Faith, Family, and Friends in September, you don't wanna see me in December.

I love making list so here is my Christmas To-Do List for the next two weeks
1) create a budget and list of people I will be shopping for
2) brainstorm and gather information for the people on my shopping list to get the best gift I can with my money
3) fill out christmas card (which I bought in February)

Meal Planning

I fancy meal planning; I enjoy taking on the challenge of creating 5 well balanced meals a week that is within our budget.  My budget used to be $100 a week and for the next four-five weeks I want to spend only $95.  I know it’s only $5 a week but it does add up to $20 a month!  My dream goal is to spend $75 a week but that will require lots of work and baby steps to get there but I am working on it.  I have been doing meal planning for over a year now; I do it weekly to take advantage of the weekly sales and we make sandwiches during the week for lunch plus I love fresh fruit and salad.  I do use about 3-5 coupons a week, I don’t buy something just because I have a coupon and it’s on sale, I buy it because I need it for that week or the next.  I also do cook one big batch of meatballs, sauce, meatloaf, and soup a month (about 6-7 dinners)

I will be updating my meal plan weekly for any other busy moms out there and a little self discipline to stick to my budget and reach my goal.  I put the total cost of the meal that includes all side and vegetable dishes.  Right now I am happy if a serving cost is less than $2.75 but my dream goal is $2.25-$2 a serving.  

Random Thoughts

I have been so busy lately, my best friend just got married this weekend so I have spent all last week getting ready. I laugh now that it took me a week to get ready for her wedding which was 30 minutes away from my house.  Plus Monkey’s lesson are in full swing now, for the next few weeks we will be learning about Apples (which he loves) and still learning about the cross for the rest of September.  By the time Sunday came I was completely drained energy wise; if I had to pin point my energy level yesterday it was at a 2 (1 lowest 10 highest) but after a long bath and my Prayer Walks this afternoon I’m back at a 7ish. I could use any tips or advice on boosting my energy because I can’t always take a long bath or a prayer walk. Now if life was like a video game I could just use one of my energy packs and be good to go.

Prayer Walks

I like to call the area where I work Corporate USA but I am blessed to have a nice walking path where on most beautiful days I use my lunch break for my Prayer Walks. These strolls are so quiet and peaceful, I can really think and open up and talk to God. I spend 30 minutes asking God “why am I on this path” or “how should I handle a situation”.  On the way back I try to stop thinking all together so I can hear God and even though I can’t actually “hear” God by the time I am back at my desk I know what God wants me to do. How do you talk to God?

Household Chores

When you work 40 hours and your weekends are filled with faith, family, and friends it leaves you no room for house work. I have no time for house work nor any money for a maid (even though if I did have money for a maid, it would become tithe money instead). Like any women there are things that drive me crazy, for example; I like to walk around my house barefoot but I hate the feeling of dirt under my feet, but I hate the feeling that I am always cleaning which is hard for any momma out there. So here is how I fit cleaning into my busy life;

Every day I do one load of laundry and a quick clean to the kitchen (dishes, countertops, and sweep).
Every other day I do a quick clean to our upstairs bathroom (quick wipe to the tub, tiles, sink, countertop, and toilet) . The three of us rarely use the powder room so I only need to clean it once a week.
Every Wednesday night is my cleaning night: I clean both bedrooms, both bathrooms, the kitchen, living room, and the dining room. I put away clutter, empty trash, dust/windex, map/vacuum every room. It only takes me 3 hours to clean both floors thanks to being organized. My trick is clean one room at a time (starting with the baby’s since he goes to bed at 7) and I carry around my cleaning basket which has everything I need to clean all the rooms. I don’t turn on any TV or radio bc then I just get distracted and everybody is sleeping so I have a good few hours to talk to God. Boy do I talk to God when I am cleaning out my refrigerator.
Every 6 monthish I go crazy and do a deep clean where I clean the closets, windows, walls, swap seasonal clothes, Murphy oil all the wood, clean the carpets.
This schedule keeps my house clean and I don’t feel like I am always cleaning. How do you manage your household chores?