Week 3: Bathroom

Well, week 2 is over and the hallway is about halfway complete. I worked hard on it last monday and haven't made or found the time to do it since. I plan on finishing it up today....a day late according to my schedule but I will get it done none the less. This week is bathroom week. In order to complete this weeks task I have two obstacles to overcome. The first is getting my hubby to finish sanding & remove the rest of the wallpaper (properly this time so that no more mudding/sanding is required!) The second is buying the paint, which may not be possible till at least friday when Buddy gets his next paycheck. I need paint for the bathroom, Girls' room, Boys' room, and our room. Which gets pretty spendy! There was a "bogo" sale on paint last week, but it was not in our budget till next pay period so we had to pass on that. This week is actually kind of a slow week for us. I will be bringing my mom down overnight tomorrow for her knee replacement early wed morn. Then the boys have chiro appts on the way home wed. Delilah's last day of school is Thurs, and her end of year banquet is friday. Saturday is wide open and so is sunday...no definate plans! So I should be able to get the hallway finished and the bathroom as well.

Audrey update, I had my 31wk appt last week. Everything is great but i'm measuring 36wks! I was measuring 31wks 3 wks prior at my 28 wk appt. When I first started measuring ahead they did a u/s to check my fluid levels (I had polyhydamnios with Carson) and everything looked good. Doc said if at my next appt (June 8th) I am still measuring that far ahead, he will order another u/s. No big deal, I could just be having another GIANT baby! Or, I could be further along....(this is my theory not from a dr.!) When I first found out I was pregnant it was about a week after a missed period. I guessed at that time that I was about 6wks along. Since I had gotten a positive test result at home. I went to the doc and they did a blood test to confirm and my hcg levels were really high, so they did a u/s to find out how far along I was. To which they thought I may be about 3 wks at that time. Which would have meant that I got a positive home test (cheap one mind you not a spendy one that can tell right away.) at about 2 wks gestation....WHAT!?! that seems crazy early, to me as I knew I was pregnant with Gus for 3wks before a home test (that time a spendy one) could pick it up. My original thought when finding out I was expecting was that I would be due mid-late June. U/S put me at due July 27th. My current measurements put me closer to what my original suspicion was. So I guess only time will tell, who is closer, me or the docs! So with that said, i'm beginning to get a little antsy to get my to-do list, done! If Audrey is to make her entrance earlier then planned, my weekly goals now need to be doubled up, in order for them to be done by the time she arrives. I've got lots of work to do!

Dee~ta~Dee

Kickin' the habit one day at a time!!!

Week 1 is officially over and a success! I got the kitchen done, including the small section in the dining room that needed to be painted. Delilah's first dance recital went great, we made it to all the practices, and thanks to a friend who needed a sitter for a couple days (and paid more than generously!), it didn't upset the budget.

Which brings me to Week 2: Hallway. I am hoping to get that done today while the hubby is home to entertain the boys so that they don't get painted as well! Tomorrow I have a dr. appt as does my sister so we will be carpooling as usual. I also have to pick up all the GS court of awards supplies, and return our recalled crib for what i'm hoping is a nice refund. Wednesday I am attending the benefit for my friends who lost their house almost a month ago. Thursday is court of awards and then starts memorial day weekend, which is also my Grandma's birthday and Blessing of the bikes.

As for my other list I made on here last week, well it's a work in progress! Admitting you have a problem is the first step...right!?!

Ok well I have one who needs a diaper change and another who needs help picking out clothes so he can go with Daddy for a bit while his brother naps and I paint the hallway!

Dee~ta~Dee

Half-way there!!

So it's wednesday today and the kitchen is painted! A full 4 days before deadline. All thats left is the section in the dining room which should take all of 10 min per coat, but yet i'm having a hard time mustering up the desire to just get it done. Which brings me to another realization about my procrastination. I think i'm addicted to feeling guilty...somehow I find ways to never feel right about much of anything. If I have a list of things to get done, even if I have the time I will usually procrastinate which leaves me with not enough time to finish that list and then I am never "done" for instance the laundry, I can have all of it washed and folded and put away but I always leave just a little bit that I never "get around to" So on top of my goal to stop procrastinating, I am also going to finish things. I can honestly say I have no idea what it feels like to have nothing to do, there is always something that needs to be done, not to mention the things I want to do, like scrapbooking, playing with the kids more, reading etc. So I am gonna make another list of things that need to get done, so that, maybe if I get into the habit of finishing things I will have less guilt and more fun doing the things I want to be doing! So here's the list of things I classicly leave the last step....unfinished.

Laundry, Wash, fold, & put away....including socks
Paperwork, Sort/organize & file
Floors, Sweep/vacuum, & mop/scrub
Dresser, Clean/Organize & sort jewelry box
Organize Junk drawer

I'm sure there are more, I just can't think of them right now!

Ok now it's time for me to paint that last little bit in the dining room and get some laundry folded & put away! I am bringing the crib to wal-mart today to get my refund. Also bringing Delilah to dance.

Week 1: Paint Kitchen

I'm honestly exhausted just thinking about my schedule this week. Today and tomorrow I am home with the boys, and I am also watching their cousin for a few hours each day. No definate plans for the evenings which means getting my kitchen done should be obtainable, if I cannot find any distractions. Wed, I'm home in the AM then have to leave for Delilah's recital rehearsal in the afternoon, and will be home in time for bed. Thurs, I will be home in the AM as well but have to head back down for dress rehearsal in the afternoon and will probably be home pretty late. Fri, I will also have the AM, then off to her recital in the early afternoon. Saturday, a birthday party for one of my besties daughter, who is one of Delilah's besties! Sunday, ahhh....the day of rest! Church in the AM then just relaxing...may try to find a river or lake to throw a line into and see if we can kick off fishing season, but no definate plans.(unless I procrastinate and don't get to the kitchen before then!) Then week 2 will start!

Week 2 is looking pretty good at this point. Dr. appt & dance class. Benefit for some friends who lost their house recently to a fire, and then court of awards for GS, and the blessing of the bikes/graduation/memorial day all taking place over the weekend. Ok, so that looks pretty full too! But week 3 should be great! Delilah's last week of school for the year and no definate plans other than dance on tue. Week 4 will be another busy one with day camp mon-wed. Week 5 consists of dance camp for Delilah mon-thurs, and week 6 rummage sale! Hmmmm.... which means I have to find time before week 6 to get our remaining stuff from the old house sorted into the following catergories; Keep, toss, sell. Sadly most of it will likely be tossed and put on the casualties list for 6238 Hwy. 1 :( But life goes on.....

Also this week things on the agenda; Jazzy (our kitty) will undoubtedly be popping soon. (I'm sure at the least appropriate time!) Collect outstanding cookie $$. Balance troop budget for end of year reports, Get summer activities schedule for GS finalized,typed, and printed. Make shopping list for court of awards and go to GS office to pick up badges earned. Call parents to make sure their children have communicated with them, answer any q's they might have, and get a head count for the ceremony. Whew, no wonder I get discouraged and find reasons to procrastinate! Thats alot! I better get busy! NO MORE PROCRASTINATING! It's 10am and I have an hour to tear down the remaining wallpaper film left on the kitchen walls before I have to clean up and start lunch! Then after lunch I'm gonna sand it smooth (long story!) and maybe get my first of 3 steps in the crackle paint process, done by dinner!!!!!!

Have a blessed day!
Dee~ta~Dee

Setting Deadlines

I am a horrible procrastinator! Case in point the fact that i'm writing about everything I should be doing rather than doing it. I took a class once and learned that my procrastination problem is likely an addiction.....to adrenaline. Makes sense when you think about it, you wait till the last minute to do something then, get the rush of having to get it done. I also have another problem, even when I make deadlines for myself, if it doesn't affect others than odds are I will just not get it done, and then decide it wasn't that important anyways. If it does affect others than I usually get it done last minute but then it's not up to par, or at least where I wanted it to be. I'm actually working against myself because I have ADD, and a touch of perfectionism, nothing ever is as good as I would have wanted it, but I think that is because I am always throwing things together last minute. So how do I rectify this???

I am going to try something new, I am going to make a to-do list (I love list making!) a deadline for each thing on the to-do list and i'm going to share that to-do list with others so that I can have some accountability when that deadline comes so I don't sell myself short on my own expectations. I made this to-do list a couple weeks ago and have not made any definate progress. So here goes! This is my To-Do list before Baby Audrey arrives!
To be done by
May 23rd (week 1) Paint Kitchen
May 30th (week 2) Paint Hallway
(Plant Garden if it's nice enough & put up pool)
June 6th (week 3) Paint Bathroom
June 13th(week 4) Paint Girls' Room
June 20th(week 5) Paint Boys' Room
June 27th(week 6) Paint Our Room
July 4th (week 7) Stain Porch
July 11th(week 8) Paint Trim Outside

That will get me to a little over 2 wks from due date so I should be safe! This may not seem like much, but the completion of these things will mean my house (excluding basement) will be done! Also I gave myself a week for each because I have lots going on with Girl Scouts, Delilah's Dance, and well just having 3 kids!

Anyone feels like helping, i'm sure I can find something! :) This baby is coming fast I can't believe im 30wks next week.....whoa!!!!

Pick your battles, and stand strong

So as I mentioned in my "Intro" My oldest, Delilah, is a bit of a Diva. Some would rather use words like "passionate" or "expressive" but I say lets call it what it is: DRAMA QUEEN! Her dramatic tendencies are entertaining most times (even if she's not laughing) but then there are the times that break my heart! I am a firm believer that if you say it you have to follow through, so if i'm not willing to follow through with the "take away your birthday threat" than I don't say it, because otherwise it opens my "NO" for discussion. When I say "no" I mean it. If I tell the kids they will not get anything else the rest of the night if they don't finish their dinner, I mean it.

So yesterday Delilah had dance class, we decided to go to McDonalds play place before class to get a bite to eat and let the boys run (my sis and her boys were with us too) because after class we had to high tail it back to beaver bay for kinship. So Delilah tells me what she wants, she eats the fries and then decides she would rather go play than eat her cheeseburger, and so I tell her that if she doesn't eat her burger she will not have anymore food the rest of the night. I even reminded her that we were going to kinship after dance and there was sure to be food there. She said over and over that she was not gonna even ask for more food if she didn't finish hers. Well we get to kinship, and about an hour into it she comes up after playing and says that she would like some food. NO was my reply and I reminded her of the agreement we made at McD's. She then begs, and I inform her that the only thing that is going to get her is a spanking. I retold her why she was not getting food and told her I didn't wanna hear another peep about it. She cried as expected but not too bad. Still made me feel like giving in, but I held my ground.

Show and tell.....seriously that phrase drives me nuts because she is obsessed with it. Every day she has to find something to bring to show and tell. Not that her teacher requires or expects it but because she loves to show and tell every little thing. This distracts her from getting ready in a timely matter because she has a somewhat one track mind about it. This morning she wanted to bring her tiara out of yesterdays happy meal. Her backpack was left in the van last night and I told her I would get it before she left to put her tiara in. She was so focused on putting her tiara in something that she decided that instead of getting ready she chose to find a paper grocery bag an put it in there instead. So just before her ride got here this morning as she was finishing her bowl of cereal, I ran out to the van and grabbed her backpack. While she was putting her shoes on I found the paper bag with the intention of putting the tiara in her backpack instead, only to find that the ponies I have told her repeatedly she could not bring to show and tell were in the bag with the tiara. So I dumped the bag out on her bed (tiara and all) and brought her backpack to her. She immediately looked in to see where her show and tell was and then panicked because it was not in there. I told her "remember the ponies I have told you, you could not bring to show and tell?" "Yes" she replied with a guilty half smile. I then said that because she had disobeyed me she would not be bringing anything for show and tell. I then told her to have a good day and that I loved her, she put her head down and turned to walk out, trying to hold back the tears. I could see on her face that she was really upset, and trying hard not to show it (or her ride may see it!) she walked away slowly and by the time she got to the car she was crying, not a full blown wail, but a cry none the less. It broke my heart :( even reliving it now, makes me sad. I hate to see her hurting, even if it is as a result of being disciplined, which is necessary. Makes me feel like the meanest mom in the world. It reminds me of an essay that my mom gave me, when I was a teenager. It was called I have the meanest mother in the world. I rejected it then partly because of lack of understanding, but also because although my mom thinks she was that mom, she was not. Maybe when we were young but being a single mom, work always came before us, and we (whether she admits it or not) did not have much for rules or structure as there was knowone home to enforce it. I know she did what she could, I only wish she would quit living in a fairytale where even though she worked 18 or more hrs out of 24 she was still the "mean mom" this essay describes. Reality is ok, I understand she had to work to support us, since she was doing it alone....ok enough of my mommy issues.

I had the meanest mother in the whole world. While other kids ate candy for breakfast, I had to have cereal, eggs or toast. When others had cokes and candy for lunch, I had to eat a sandwich. As you can guess, my supper was different than the other kids' also.

But at least, I wasn't alone in my sufferings. My sister and two brothers had the same mean mother as I did.

My mother insisted upon knowing where we were at all times. You'd think we were on a chain gang. She had to know who our friends were and where we were going. She insisted if we said we'd be gone an hour, that we be gone one hour or less--not one hour and one minute. I am nearly ashamed to admit it, but she actually struck us. Not once, but each time we had a mind of our own and did as we pleased. That poor belt was used more on our seats than it was to hold up Daddy's pants. Can you imagine someone actually hitting a child just because he disobeyed? Now you can begin to see how mean she really was.

We had to wear clean clothes and take a bath. The other kids always wore their clothes for days. We reached the height of insults because she made our clothes herself, just to save money. Why, oh why, did we have to have a mother who made us feel different from our friends?

The worst is yet to come. We had to be in bed by nine each night and up at eight the next morning. We couldn't sleep till noon like our friends. So while they slept-my mother actually had the nerve to break the child-labor law. She made us work. We had to wash dishes, make beds, learn to cook and all sorts of cruel things. I believe she laid awake at night thinking up mean things to do to us.

She always insisted upon us telling the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, even if it killed us- and it nearly did.

By the time we were teen-agers, she was much wiser, and our life became even more unbearable. None of this tooting the horn of a car for us to come running. She embarrassed us to no end by making our dates and friends come to the door to get us. If I spent the night with a girlfriend, can you imagine she checked on me to see if I were really there. I never had the chance to elope to Mexico. That is if I'd had a boyfriend to elope with. I forgot to mention, while my friends were dating at the mature age of 12 and 13, my old fashioned mother refused to let me date until the age of 15 and 16. Fifteen, that is, if you dated only to go to a school function. And that was maybe twice a year.

Through the years, things didn't improve a bit. We could not lie in bed, "sick" like our friends did, and miss school. If our friends had a toe ache, a hang nail or serious ailment, they could stay home from school. Our marks in school had to be up to par. Our friends' report cards had beautiful colors on them, black for passing, red for failing. My mother being as different as she was, would settle for nothing less than ugly black marks.

As the years rolled by, first one and then the other of us was put to shame. We were graduated from high school. With our mother behind us, talking, hitting and demanding respect, none of us was allowed the pleasure of being a drop-out.

My mother was a complete failure as a mother. Out of four children, a couple of us attained some higher education. None of us have ever been arrested, divorced or beaten his mate. Each of my brothers served his time in the service of this country. And whom do we have to blame for the terrible way we turned out? You're right, our mean mother. Look at the things we missed. We never got to march in a protest parade, nor to take part in a riot, burn draft cards, and a million and one other things that our friends did. She forced us to grow up into God-fearing, educated, honest adults.

Using this as a background, I am trying to raise my three children. I stand a little taller and I am filled with pride when my children call me mean. Because, you see, I thank God, He gave me the meanest mother in the whole world.

Written by
Bobbie Pingaro ©1967

This brings me little comfort as I know that it will likely not be until my own kids are giving me grandkids that they understand why I do what I do. So I guess I stand my ground for now and hope that someday my children will be as thankful as I am that I am their mother.

A few of the dramatic phrases used this week by my little diva;
"I already had a hard day and your making it worse!" because I wouldnt let her have a straw with her cup of water because I was cooking at the stove and didn't want her digging in the drawer under the countertop stove for one!

"You're doing it again!" (referring to making her day worse) because I wouldn't let her do something else in the kitchen...can't remember what!

"This is the worst day ever!" when her pouting didn't work to change my mind. Also she yelled that as she was stomping out of the house and slamming the door..... I was laughing :)

That was just one night!

She did say something cute this week though. After dinner she was helping me clean up the table and asked what our plan was the next night for dinner. I told her we had kinship. She asked why, I said because we wanna get together with our friends in Christ, and have fellowship with them. She then then said "did you know that were all Gods kids which would mean we're all like brothers and sisters in Gods eyes!?!" I replied "yes, I guess so" then I decided to be silly and see what she would say, so I said "does that mean your dad is my brother, so I married my brother!?!" Her response with a big grin; "yep, but it's ok your kids won't be sick or anything" LOL if that wasn't enough, when I started laughing she looked at me and said "Aren't I just the cutest?" LOL

Ok well gotta get going lots to do today!
Dee-ta-Dee

Being green and frugal, takes work!

So last summer we took FPU (financial peace university) by Dave Ramsey. We learned so much and are continually trying to apply what we learned, so that we can be debt free soon, and have financial peace for the first time! Oddly enough since learning and applying what we have learned, even though we can't scream "we're debt free!" quite yet, we are on our way, and there is peace in that. I have discovered that I like to spend money, and I'm not very good at saving money! Ok I didn't need the class to teach me that but, the class has taught me some tools to try to stop that!

Recently I have also been trying to make smarter choices not just financially, but, also in what we're eating, cleaning with, and use around the house. I do not buy into the Global warming climate change hype, but I do take into consideration that we were made by God to be caretakers of the earth and should be doing what we can. I believe that we should be using our natural resources and replenishing them hand in hand.

Being frugal and green don't necessarily come hand in hand! For instance, try to be green at the grocery store, try to stick to organic, or non processed foods. Although it is getting easier to find those things at most grocery stores, the price of such items, as compared to their genetically altered, processed, counterpart is enough to make someone on budget cringe! Although I have found that with some time (one of my hangups...i'm a convenience person!!!) and work you can stay within budget. For example, I have switched all of my families bread consumption to whole grain. This can get spendy. A way you can curb the expense: buy a couple bread pans, your choice ingredients, and voila! Much cheaper, and many times tastier than store bought.

Diapers = $$$$, but they don't have to! My kids have been blessed with extra sensitive skin, which means I can't cut corners and buy the cheaper brands, nope for us it's pampers or bust (and by bust I mean their skin...wide open with rashes!) So for Gustaf I spent around $100 and bought 10 all in one kushies cloth diapers. They were great on the budget (paid for themselves in about 4mos.) and I think they played a big part in his early training. He now only wears them at night, which saves me from buying night time diapers, and since he is otherwise fully trained, I don't have to deal with any #2's from him so it is easy for anyone, even those who hate the thought of washing poo from cloth diapers! With Carson I went back to pampers because I only had one sz diapers for Gus, and figured he would start fitting into them by about 6mos to 1yr. He still doesn't fit into them, because he's so tiny. So with the new baby on the way I went to a diaper party this weekend and bought about 10 more cloth diapers w/ accesories. So now Carson has diapers that fit him, and I have 2 diapers that fit newborn to 35# so I just gotta get a few more of those and I'll be set for Audrey too! When I run out of my current wipes supply I will be switching to cloth wipes as well. It will hopefully have paid for itself by the time Audrey is here, then from that point on i'm saving money!!

I also just bought some curtains for our living room. They are nice thick thermal curtains so they will save on energy costs as well as offering some privacy! I am really excited about this because I got them with free shipping and they are 1/2 the price of the ones I was looking at a week ago! yay for shopping around before buying!

So the lesson here is there is no room for convenience in being frugal and green at the same time! When i'm cleaning out a poopy diaper rather than throwing it in the garbage and filling up a landfill while emptying the kids college fund, I can remember that as Ramsey says "If you live like knowone else, later you can LIVE like knowone else!"

Well I have to be getting back to my duties around the house.

God Bless,
Dee~ta~Dee