Homemaking Challenged

2013-05-16T14:20:00.001-07:00

My silence has not been without just cause. My grandfather was called home. I had to do a quick trip with the kids back to Chicago for some family time.

So blessed that my grandparents were able to spend Christmas through mid-March at my parents and we were able to spend lots of time with them.

Here is just a quick shot of baby girl with great grandpa (and great grandma) this last spring.

So thankful for the incredible legacy he left, and the amazing example he set.

Cheers!

Ashley

Menu Monday

2013-04-29T13:46:00.000-07:00

Monday: Left overs
Tuesday: Taco Night
Wednesday: Mac and Cheese
Thursday: Chicken and Rice
Friday: Pizza at Church

This is what we are planing on eating this week! Hope you all have a fabulous week!

Cheers!

Ashley

Time Management for the Busy Homemaker: How do you find time? (Part 2)

2013-04-26T12:00:00.000-07:00

This a 2nd of a series, if you missed part one please check it out!

In my own personal life right now, I have been delving into the area of time management. It started when I read this fantastic book from Jim Wideman (a children's ministry guy) to help me get more ministry done in my short 32 hour week. I have been leaving daily with undone tasks, and consistently feel like I can not finish my work in my allotted time. However the principles are things that every homemaker needs to know. You CAN find time in your schedule, I promise! In part one we dreamed about what we would do with our extra time and our goals, now it is time to look at how to find the time for those things.

Here are some basics for how to get started.

1) Track your current time.
How do you currently spend your time? Take out a piece of paper, and actually write down what you do and when you do it. Do it in 15 minute (or smaller) increments. Do this for a week. Seriously track your minutes, physically write it down and track what you are actually doing with your time.

2) Evaluate your current time usage.
Are you getting sucked into menial tasks that can cause you to loose time? What are things that you can cut out? Do you really need to watch 5 hours of TV per week? I found that I was watching TV out of habit, during scheduled blog time, or hubby hang out time. Do you spend 2 hours doing something that should take less? Do you not do things you should be doing? Ask the hard questions.

3) Figure out your needs versus your wants.
I would love to zone out for an hour or two a night before bed to decompress and just enjoy some TV (yes, I'm picking on TV here because it is my issue, however for you it could be pintrest, apps on a portable device, video games etc). How much of this down time do you need? Is it productive? Is it eating time away from other things you need to be doing?

4) Eliminate the time wasters.
Here comes the hard step. Getting rid of or seriously limiting the things that you don't need, that don't add to your life and things that are a distraction. It is as simple and difficult as that.

5) Discover your "free" time
There are some other ways to create more free time (I will discuss those in a later post). However, discovering and changing your habits that are sucking time out of your day, will give you "extra time" to do the things you want to do.

Cheers!

Ashley

Time Management for the Busy Homemaker: The Dream of an Extra Hour (part 1)

2013-04-25T21:00:00.001-07:00

I don't know of a single homemaker who doesn't tell me they are busy and/or tiered. We all have a lot going on, we all have a ton on our plate. What would you do with an extra hour a day? Dream with me here.

With an extra hour a day I could...

... read a book

... craft

... hang pictures on my wall

... some of the 1 million DYI projects I want to do for my home

... update the blog facebook page (oops hangs head in shame)

... actually do the dishes

... talk with or hang out with friends

This list could take awhile. I will come back to it I promise, but first we need to think about what we want in life. What are things that you really want to do (long term) with your life? For myself, I have many dreams I wish I could turn into reality, I just don't have the time .

What if you could find the time?

What if we could make you the time?

It honestly all comes down to priorities. What do you want your priority to be. You make room for the big stuff in your life first (God, family etc) and then you can figure out how to make more time for the little things. Don't be tricked in to thinking that you don't have any time. I have recently discovered that you can make time by shifting things around a bit, and find more time to do the things that matter to you.

For example, tonight for me it was taking the time after dinner to blow bubbles with my adorable two year old. He is now in bed, the dishes are ~~mostly~~ done, and I am able to focus on my blog, and be happy knowing that my 2 year old thought blowing bubbles with mommy was the best part of his day.

A week ago I would have told him I'm to busy, but I have found a way to make the time. I'm really excited to share these tips with you because I think every homemaker wants more time, weather you use it to sneak away and take a bubble bath, to work on projects, to blog, to spend more time with your family doing the things you want, or if you want to start a new project soon (like grad school). I hope that you will dream big with what you will do with your "extra" time.

Take a few minutes and think about your priorities and goals in life. What are they? How much time do you think you spend on the things that are most important to you? How much time do you think you spend on things that don't matter at all?

In part 2 we will be discussing how you spend your time currently, stay tuned!

Cheers!

Ashley

Menu Monday

2013-04-22T06:00:00.000-07:00

Monday - Leftovers (from my birthday dinner, super excited for this)
Tuesday - Pizza
Wednesday - Mac and Cheese
Thursday/Friday/Saturday - One will be chicken and rice, the other two will be out with family.

This is what we are eating this week! What are you guys eating?

Cheers!
Ashley

General Update

2013-04-19T15:21:00.000-07:00

Our little home has been full of hustle and bustle lately. I honestly wouldn't have it any other way. I love all of the wonderful things we do together. Even if it can be a bit overwhelming sometimes.

Here are a few pics of our last few weeks...

We have spent lots of time at the park

Last weekend we bravely went camping with two little ones, details on this later.

We have been doing lots of family walks.

And lots of swimming in Grandma and Grandpa's pool.

We had a very Happy Easter, quite, but happy.

We have continued our Monday night game nights, and they are always a blast

Brother and Sister have had lots of fun together too.

Watching movies

Doing puzzles

Life, it is truly wonderful. Even if it is busy, and crazy. We have so many wonderful things that happen in our daily life. I am one happy and grateful mommy!

Cheers!
Ashley

Through the valley

2013-04-16T10:49:00.000-07:00

Thank you for allowing me to be raw&unedited and then staying with me as I took a step away from this blog. It was a needed break to get things in order and refocus/reground myself.

It has been good. Really good.

I have been sucked into the hustle and bustle of life and have not taken the time that I should to stop and focus. To more firmly root myself in Christ, and to draw my strength from him. How easy it is to not do that.

1. Come Thou Fount of every blessing

Tune my heart to sing Thy grace;

Streams of mercy, never ceasing,

Call for songs of loudest praise

Teach me some melodious sonnet,

Sung by flaming tongues above.

Praise the mount! I'm fixed upon it,

Mount of God's unchanging love.

2. Here I raise my Ebenezer;

Hither by Thy help I'm come;

And I hope, by Thy good pleasure,

Safely to arrive at home.

Jesus sought me when a stranger,

Wandering from the fold of God;

He, to rescue me from danger,

Interposed His precious blood.

3. O to grace how great a debtor

Daily I'm constrained to be!

Let that grace now like a fetter,

Bind my wandering heart to Thee.

Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,

Prone to leave the God I love;

Here's my heart, O take and seal it,

Seal it for Thy courts above.

There is a reason that come thou fount is my favorite hymn. It is so easy for us to derail, to be distracted, to be entangled in sin. It is only through Him that I can do this whole wife/mom/full time worker/homemaking and life thing.

I am still challenged, I am still growing, I am still working on how to do this whole thing. I think that is the thing, we are all still in process. Some are further along than us, others simply appear that way and sometimes, we get ahead of ourselves and think we are further along than we really are and we try to do it all on our own to prove it to ourselves. (*coughASHLEYcough *self finger point*)

The truth is, we can't.

That is the beauty of it though, realizing that we can't do everything and do it perfectly releases us from the burden of having to.

We don't have to do it all.

We don't have to do it all perfectly.

We are free.

In this freedom we can choose to do what we want, and the best thing is the biggest power source in the universe is on my side.

How easy it is to forget, the grace of it all. There is that word again. Grace. My daily grace challenge has been amazing so far. Extending it to others is so freeing. Especially my husband. Why is it sometimes so hard to do this to the people we love the most?

I know that this post had a heavy spiritual content, I truly do not mean to offend anyone, however this is what has been going on in our home, and is what I am sharing. I normally do not share much of my faith on my blog, it is not because it isn't central in my life, it is because it is not the purpose of THIS blog. I do have another one that focuses on faith, if you would like to know more about it email me.

In homemaking news, we have been having some MAJOR dust storms this week. The joys of living in a desert. It seriously looks like I haven't cleaned my house in months because everything is covered in dust/sand. SUPER gross!

I also have some exciting things to announce soon for the blog.

Hope you all have had a wonderful month and that the US folks got their taxes filed yesterday!

Cheers!

Ashley

Me:raw & un-edited...

2013-03-19T12:39:00.000-07:00

WARNING - Long, un-editied, rambley post below. Please no judgement. If I re-read to edit, I know I wont actually post it, and I feel like I need to. So I'm just going to post it and see what happens...

We (well mostly me) are in some crazy ruts right now as well as missing the mark in SOOO many areas of my life.

Eating related - I am sick of our current rotating menu, I really am wanting to do something healthier. I am struggling to find things that are quick, cheap and healthy. Oh ya, and also something my picky husband will eat. His picky-ness is KILLING my meal planing these days. Not to mention that 1-4 days per week (depending on the week) I have a 45 minute turn around time to head back to work, or we have people coming over. This means dinner must be cooked, and consumed during this time period. Oh yes, I also have to pump, which means that the hubby has do do the bulk of the work. I has really hampered my meal planing and options lately. I would seriously LOVE some killer recipes. Things that are HEALTHY, CHEAP, and FAST/EASY to make. Oh yes, and don't forget my husband is picky. Anything with ANY sort of beans, or vegetables (of ANY kind) or fruity type things are completely off limits. He is the classic "meat and potatoes" kind of guy to the extreme (think Ron Swanson from Parks and Rec, where veggies are "rabbit food". If he actually read my blog, and knew that I was comparing him to Ron, he would be thrilled and honored *sigh* *facepalm*) Anyways, I really need some miracle recipes. Please don't say Deceptively Delicious (which is a GREAT book and would totally work for kids), because while I thought it was a GENIUS plan, hubby know and wont eat it. Any suggestions? I really am at a loss, a complete and other loss.

Homemaking related - I have been trying to fine tune my habits and my routine. I am getting sick of the mad dash when we have people over (2x's per week at least). I have been supper lazy (and challenged) in this area recently, and it is frustrating me. I need to figure out a way to make the whole, house staying clean/de-cluttered easier. It honestly is frustrating spending all of my "off time" cleaning and still feeling like it is never clean. I have been trying to purge and get rid of stuff we don't need/use, and organize it better, but I am majorly failing at a system to keep it strait.

Mommy related - I am in this crazy cycle of desperately needed a true break, and missing my kids like crazy. I miss them when I'm at work and I have to say good bye to them. When I'm at home, they are both demanding my attention, while I am trying to make the mad 45 minute dinner and back to work or people coming over dash. I feel like the quality time I desire isn't there. I try and make it, but my baby girl loves to go to bed early (like by 6pm) and with me getting home closer to 5 and scrambling, I feel not as connected with her. My little man and I go to AWANA once per week (so he is part of that mad dash), which is fun because while I am "working" and teaching in another class, he is my "helper" in set up and clean up so we get good time in there. Also, he sometimes just wants me to cuddle with him. THAT I can totally do! We also do our bedtime story and prayers every night with both kids. I guess I just feel like I am failing, and missing out on so much when I'm at work, and then spend my at home time dealing with toddler tantrums and teething tears.

Wife related - Hubby and I have been having mis-communications like you wouldn't believe! I am super failing in so many areas it is killing me. I hate arguing and being upset. We have both just had so much pressure in so many areas of our life right now, on top of our insane schedule, we just are off. Totally failing in this area right now.

Friend related - Honestly it is almost at the point of me saying, "I have friends?" Thankfully one of my dear friends from college got a few of us emailing semi-regularly. I think it is going to take some practice, but I'm really hoping that is going to help me out. I try and get out, I try to put myself out there. I have some "new prospects" (that seriously sounds weird, but I don't know how else to put it), it is really hard for me that I can't hang out with people. I know life is crazy, and that the people I am closest with are spread out all over, and keeping in touch with them (which I suck at) is important, and I'm trying to get better. I also, know that sometimes, I physically need to sit and go do something with people. I'm working on connecting with the mom's in my ministry better, but it is hard, because they are also a part of my ministry which can slightly complicate things.

Blog related - Ya, so my dog LITERALLY chewed the power cord to my computer. Thankfully my hubby knows a few things about electrical type things, and fixed it for the temporary. Honestly, with all the fails/ruts everywhere else, this is something that I have used as my outlet and need. It has been neglected lately, which is totally my fault. I am working on a system to fix it. Stay tuned.

Personally related - I have been emotionally off lately. I have a heavy weight on my heart that I can't seem to get off. I honestly have prayed and really don't know what is going on. It is borderline depressive, but is also making me not want to do everything. It is really frustrating, I think part of it is not having people around (see the friend issues above) and not being able to talk and recharge my batteries the way I need to.

Sorry long rambley un-editied post, but I did warn you! I just wanted to let you know where I am. Maybe you have been here too? Suggestions? Ideas?

Cheers!

Ashley

House of Sick

2013-03-11T16:05:00.002-07:00

We have been stuck with lots of sickness in this house. Apologies for not posting, I promise it is coming, I have several posts ready to go, almost but they need a few things. For now here is a pick of me cuddling my sweet sick boy. :( Hopefully we are all on our way to mending and will be rejoining the rest of the world soon.

Cheers!

Ashley

Menu Monday

2013-03-04T06:00:00.000-08:00

Here is what we are planing on eating this week.

Monday: Crock pot Potato Soup (from the freezer)
Tuesday: Taco Tuesday
Wednesday: Macaroni and Cheese
Thursday: Black Bean Tortilla Bake
Friday: Pizza Night

Have a great week!

Cheers!

Ashley

Org Junkies 31 Day Challenge March 2013

2013-03-03T20:48:00.000-08:00

This year has been full of changes, moving, fast paced living and multiple challenges so far. All of this has caused me to severely lack in the cleaning/organizing department. I still don't have a SINGLE thing hung on our walls, (we have lived here 8 months), nor have I finished unpacking or found places for everything yet. This is going to change. I am once again going to be linking up with the Org Junkie to complete a challenge. This will help kick start my spring cleaning as well as take back my Master Bedroom.

If you are coming here from linking up through this challenged welcome! Please feel free to check out my blog, let me know you did! I love meeting new friends!

This is going to be hard for me to complete with my littles and hubby, but I know that it is important. I've wanted to do some spring cleaning anyways, as well as sell some stuff and this is just the kick in the pants I need to actually do it. I don't know why, but I do better when I'm doing hard things alongside of others and have some motivation/a challenge to help force myself to get it done!

This year I seriously could do this challenged to EVERY room in my house, but obviously I wont have time for that, I will for now, just show you a few select pictures, (please don't judge too harshly) and you will have to come back to see the results! I am really going to focus on our Master Bedroom, which has officially become the storage dumping ground. It also has a section that I have been desperate to make into an office/crafting space. It really needs attention. Also, I'm hoping that clearing it out will also force me to do some other projects around the house that are currently being stored in the bedroom. I did our master bedroom last year, in our old home and LOVED the results. I'm really hoping I can do this again, with similar results. You see, I felt a great sense of accomplishment and much more peace of mind going to bed in a clean/organized room each night. I really could do with some of those feelings again right about now.

With out further delay, here is my shameful before pictures (which hopefully at the end of the month will have changed into glorious after pictures.

Cheers!

Ashley

Our 1st Big Project: Installing a Dishwasher

2013-03-02T20:30:00.000-08:00

As I previously eluded (love that word), we recently installed a dishwasher! We have had a dishwasher waiting to be installed since we bought our home. I thought it would be a few short weeks, however weeks turned into months, and finally after looking at my kitchen constantly covered in dishes and having to wash them multiple times per day, I talked my hubby into doing it ourselves on a Saturday.

To start I had my hubby look up the directions and take the necessary measurements.

We took a trip to the hardware store, it was that I realized my husband, like EVERY OTHER MALE on the planet, REALLY dislikes asking for help or directions. To take the pressure off, I took the kids to the flowers and allowed him time to "figure it out/ask for help". After 30 - 40 minutes (two trips to the flowers with the kids, and a potty break) I finally tracked down an employee who offered assistance to my husband. Within 10 minutes of receiving help (as in what was an hour trip could have been all of 15minutes) we left with our purchases and ready to start the project.

There has been a spot in our kitchen that has been begging for a dishwasher, since the day we moved in. When we unpacked our kitchen I intentionally left the space empty, in preparation for the dishwasher.

All we had to do was knock out the space,

and drill a few holes to run the water lines (and hook them up),

and the electrical cord.

Easy right? Of course we encountered multiple issues along the way, requiring a total of four trips the the hardware store. The first thing we had to change was a wrong size hose, then we found a leak and had to purchase another hose to fix it.

Then the hubby over tightened something and broke something (the plastic piece that hooks up the water return from the dishwasher to the silver thing that spits it into the sink, so technical I know)

Again I'm going to be so technical, but this is the splitter and the other hoses my hubby installed under our sink, it was a fairly easy thing to do. My hubby is a figure it out on his own kinda guy, but it was pretty self explanatory.

He worked really hard and save us a ton of money had we hired someone else to do it.

By the end of the day, we had a wonderful new (to us) dishwasher, ready to handle the mass amount of dishes our family of four produces.

I am one happy lady and am greatly enjoying that it makes one of my daily habits easier as well as my counters clearer! *Happy dance*

A fairly successful for our first big DYI home improvement project. I think we will try and keep the trips to the hardware store to under 4 next time. Trust me, if we can do it, ANYONE can :)

Cheers!

Ashley

Week 9 of 52 Weeks To Become Less Homemaking Challenged

2013-03-01T09:50:00.001-08:00

Each Saturday this year, I will be posting a weekly habit. During my 31 day's series, I talked about a lot of theoretical and how to create purpose in your home. It was about you figuring things out, making goals, and knowing why you are doing the work, now it is time to put them into action. Each week I will add one new habit to help you become less homemaking challenged. The objective of this? By the end of the year, for us to have applied several of these habits in our daily/weekly routine and be less homemaking challenged by the end of the year!

#9 Purge

Today is the first day of March, and Spring cleaning will soon be here. A huge way to help you out in your home is by purging and getting rid of things that you no longer use or need. this is a huge help in keeping your home clean (less stuff = less clutter) and it also helps you find what you actually use easily. This one is SOOOO hard for me. I'm serious! It is REALLY HARD. I am a saver, and I love saving things and using them later. It is so hard for me to get rid of things I "might need", especially when money is tight. Here are some simple rules I use for getting rid of things.

1) When did I use it last? (anything over a year will most likely go)
2) How much does it cost to replace? (anything that is expensive or a pain to replace I keep)
3) Do I have duplicates or something that serves the same purpose? (get rid of one)
4) Is it something I can't live without?
5) Does it hold sentimental value? (some of these items you can just take pictures of, others you may need to keep)

It can be hard to toss, but the results are so worth it!!! It will make your home easier to maintain help you be less Homemaking Challenged!

Cheers!

Ashley

Miss a week? Here are the past 52 Weeks to Become Less Homemaking Challenged, so far click here to see a full list.
Week #1
Week #2
Week #3
Week #4
Week #5
Week #6
Week #7
Week #8
Week #9

Menu Monday

2013-02-25T11:55:00.003-08:00

Here is what we are planning on eating this week!

Monday: Taco Night
Tuesday: Out
Wednesday: Spaghetti Night
Thursday: Crock Pot Potato Soup
Friday: Pizza

Have a great week everyone!

Cheers!

Ashley

Week 8 of 52 Weeks To Become Less Homemaking Challenged

2013-02-23T10:34:00.000-08:00

#8 Plan your meals

I try each week to post our menu on the blog. I do this to help keep me accountable to planing our meals for our family. I will admit that many times I don't plan, those are the weeks where we are scrambling and chaos fills our evenings. I do not like that feeling of calling my hubby, telling him I'm on my way home and we have to figure out dinner and often cook and eat it within the hour. Without planing things can get crazy, best know ahead of time what you are doing.

I am still learning how to make this work for my family, how to make this work the best our life and budget, but I can tell you that our lives are WAY easier when we aren't scrambling with the question "What's for dinner" when you are hungry and pressed for time because that can way too easily end up with a drive thru meal. It is much friendlier on your health and budget to plan ahead!

Since I still don't have this whole menu planning thing nailed yet, I am going to point you to several of my favorite bloggers thoughts on the subject. Check out these great menu planing posts from: iHeartOrganizing and endless crafting on general planning, Moneysavingmom's part 1 and part 2 on menu planning on a budget and orgjunkie has this great resource list to help you plan.

Cheers!

Ashley

The Power of Dawn and Vinegar

2013-02-22T06:00:00.000-08:00

After having seen MANY, MANY pin's on Pinterst about the magic power of Dawn and Vinegar as a bathroom cleaner, I HAD to try it for myself, and I new just the place to do it. Remember, we don't judged here on before pictures!

Behold the horrible before

And the glorious after

Is this not amazing?

It is simple:
1 part Dawn
1 part Vinegar

Just mix, apply, wait a few minutes, clean, rinse and voila! A fabulously cleaned shower! Simple, effective and cheaper than any other cleaner I know that works THIS WELL! I am sold! Have you tried it yet? I'd love to hear about your results!

Cheers!

Ashley

A beautiful sight

2013-02-21T22:09:00.002-08:00

For those of you who have had been enjoying your kitchens with a dishwasher, I would like to show you a beautiful (in my eyes) sight. Behold, the last regular dishes I will have to wash by hand in the foreseeable future...

... and meet my new best friend.

For those of you who are fb fans, and guessed dishwasher, you were correct! I am so excited about this. The amount of dishes this family of four generates is absolutely unbelievable. I will have the FULL report soon, but I have multiple pictures to edit as this was our first BIG DYI project and I got a tad camera happy. I can honestly say that this will make one of the habits I am working on this year, of daily dishes much, much easier. For those of you who have been enjoying a dishwasher, remember what a blessing it is. Also, if you happen to be at my house and catch me kissing it, please forgive me.

Cheers!

Ashley

Black Bean Tortilla Bake

2013-02-19T21:57:00.000-08:00

By far the most popular blog post to date is my Chicken Tortilla Bake. Most of its popularity and traffic comes from Pintrest and a few other big blogs who have linked to the site (thanks for that!). Several months ago, I got a sweet email from a reader who asked me if there was a non-meat version. I have never seen/heard of one, so I decided to create it. I invited a friend over for dinner who had agreed to be my "guinea pig" We were both happy with the results, so without further delay my Black Bean Tortilla Bake.

5 Simple Ingredients:
16 Corn Tortillas (Diced into about 1 inch strips)
2 Cans of Campbell's Cheddar Cheese Soup
1 Can of Rotel's diced tomatoes and chillis
1/2 cup of shredded cheese
3 cups cooked black beans drained well (can be from can or home cooked)

Combine the Rotel and Cheddar Cheese together in a bowl and mix well, then add in the black beans.

In a 8x8 pan layer 1/3rd of the diced tortilla bits on the bottom of the pan.

Poor half of the soup mixture over the tortilla bits, layer another 1/3rd of the tortilla bits on top and then poor the remaining portion of the soup mixture and then top with the remainder of the tortilla bits.

Cover and bake at 350 until heated through.

Uncover, and top with cheese. Return to the oven for an additional 5-10 minutes until cheese is melted

Then serve and enjoy!

I love eating it with sour cream and chips! (guacamole is also a great extra)

Please enjoy, feel free to pin, and share as long as you link back to my page.

Cheers!

Ashley

PS I love to Blog PARTY! Check here to see all the great places I'm linking up!

Week 7 of 52 Weeks To Become Less Homemaking Challenged

2013-02-16T19:29:00.000-08:00

#7 Ask for help

Seeking out others how have been there, have the professional know how, and experiance can be a huge factor in your personal success at home. No matter how long you have been doing something, there is always someone else who has ideas about how to make it better. Honestly I think this is my favorite thing about home blogs and pintrest. There are SOOO many AMAZING ideas. Some of them I smack myself in the head saying how did I not think of doing that! Others, I think wow I could have never thought of that, or that is so cool, but I could never do it in million zillion years. I think the best thing we can do is seek out others who have experience and know how. It will save us lots of work in the end. I am by no means saying that I am this person, or that I have it all together. Trust me, if you could see my house right now, you would say, this chick has no right to be writing a homemaking blog. However, that is why it is called homemaking challenged, I am challenged in this area, and am seeking to be better. Asking others for help, is always key, I will be sharing a story about the importance of asking for help later on this week in my blog.

Cheers!

Ashley

Miss a week? Here are the past 52 Weeks to Become Less Homemaking Challenged, so far clickhere to see a full list.
Week #1
Week #2
Week #3
Week #4
Week #5
Week #6
Week #7

I want YOU!

2013-02-13T06:00:00.000-08:00

Dear fellow readers,

I am looking for several people to contribute a post (or two) to my blog for a new series I want to do. I know that I am far from perfect and I still have tons to learn! I would love to have some of you share something with my readers. If you have a blog, I would gladly do a blog swap with you, so we can both get new readers. If you don't, I would still love to share what you have to say with everyone.

There are just 2 simple rules:

1) I must have SOMETHING to do with homemaking. It could be about family, relationships, recipes, cleaning, crafting, organizing, ideas, family ect. It is a very broad topic, but please no movie reviews (unless you know of a movie that has to do with homemaking)

2) I reserve the right to say no. It may be for any reason, but know that saying no is harder for me than it is for you. Please don't let the fear of me saying no prevent you from trying.

That is really it. I will get into more details with you personally about what I am planing on doing. If this is something that would interest you, please let me know by emailing me!

Cheers!

Ashley

Daily Grace

2013-02-12T15:46:00.001-08:00

One of my habits that I am working on this year for my Project 13 is daily grace. Grace is a word that happens to be popping up all over my life right now. My Mom's group just started reading this book called Graced Based Parenting. I'm excited to read it, but it was also one more affirmation that I need to focus on Grace.

One of my favorite passages on Grace is Romans 5 & 6. It is far to long to post here, but it is worth the read. The bottom line is we are all sinners in need of grace. EVERY SINGLE ONE of us. There is not one who has not messed up at some point and time, for most of us it is daily, if not hourly that we mess up. Yet we are under the amazing grace of God.

Because of this amazing grace, I need to give myself grace, and not beat myself up so much. I also need to give grace to every person I encounter. How much more should I extend the same grace that has been given to me, to my husband, my children and those closest to me.

How often do we judge others, hold things against them and overreact to things? How much better would it be to acknowledge that we are all broken and have grace be given. I am not in any way saying that we can use this grace as an excuse to do whatever we want by any means. (Check out Romans 6:1-2) I am saying that if everyone gave a bit more grace, specifically in our own homes, how much better, happier and loving would that home be?

I know that I need to do better on this in my own home. Which is why it is one of the habits I am working on this year. Won't you join me in being better at giving grace to those around you?

Cheers!

Ashley

Menu Monday

2013-02-11T13:48:00.000-08:00

Here is what we are planing on eating this week:

Monday: Hamburgers
Tuesday: Potato Soup
Wednesday: Pasta
Thursday: Leftover night
Friday: Pizza

It is a simple week this week in our world. If you haven't make this potato soup recipe yet, potatoes are $2 for 10lbs at Walmart this week, so its a great time to try it! I'm going to make two batches and freeze a bunch of it this week!

Cheers!

Ashley

Week 6 of 52 Weeks To Become Less Homemaking Challenged

2013-02-09T20:34:00.000-08:00

#6 Take a Minute (or two)

As life goes racing by, sometimes we as busy homemakers forget to stop and remember the important things. Our kids are only young for so long, moments only happen once, we don't get another chance. When things are crazy, we things are hard, when you feel like you are so overwhelmed. Stop. Take a moment, take a mental picture of your kids, (even if they are in timeout, screaming, or covered in flour). These are things you will laugh about, stories and memories you are creating. Your home is meant to be lived in. It is meant to hold lives, love, laughter and create thoughts memories and stories. When the chaos of life his happening, stop, take a moment to breath, ground yourself and know that this wont last forever. This is especially helpful when you have an 8month who screams and crawls after you all over the house because she wants just you to hold her, and a 2 year old who thinks he can tell you no, and do what he wants and then ends up in time out. Not that I would know anything about that.

Cheers!

Ashley

Miss a week? Here are the past 52 Weeks to Become Less Homemaking Challenged, so far clickhere to see a full list.

Life

2013-02-07T15:19:00.001-08:00

Crazy, Crazy, Life!

Doesn't it always happen that when things get crazy, you start to drop a few of the balls you are juggling.

Things have been very hectic in our home recently.

I got a text the other day from a friend bugging me about updating my blog, at least there are people who read it and care. I will give you a brief overview and over the next few days I will be playing some catch up on the blog.

I have upped my mystery shopping and I'm not doing 8-10 shops per month. With my hubby currently being a "trophy husband" as he likes to call it, (I prefer stay-at-home-dad or Mr. gets-to-stay-home-and-play-videogames-all-day-while-he-keeps-an-eye-on-the-kids-but-doesn't-do-any-cleaning-or-dishes) As his work being far more miss than hit, I have been desperately finding other avenues of income. I am slowly figuring out how to write up detailed reports quickly, but it is taking some time. (Counting a mystery shop and report I worked 12.5 hours yesterday).

My son is POTTY TRAINED! It is super exciting. Yesterday was our 1st day 100% accident free (including nap time). While we are in pull-ups overnight, we proudly wear our big boy underwear now. It has been an exhausting few weeks making this happen, but I'm so excited that we are back down to a 1 baby in diaper household.

Oh ya, but the tantrums are going to be the death of me. This is my sweet boy last week, on the floor throwing a tantrum at the DMV. Where I missed my number being called because we were in the bathroom going potty. Word to the wise, don't take a potty training 2 year old and a 7month old to the DMV. Doesn't matter how many activities you bring, they will only want to do the things they can't.

Last week I was down for the count. I somehow managed to pul a muscle in my back, and was in pain all week. I used heat wraps and rested every chance I got, but I greatly fell behind in nearly all of my weekly tasks.

Hubby has worked 1 1/2 day last week and then again this week. It looks like there may be a big project on the horizon which would mean full time hours again. That would be a HUGE blessing, but also present the challenge of childcare.

Our taxes got rejected by the IRS, because the same SS# I have filed as our sons for the past 2 years with out a problem, all of the sudden doesn't match their records (obviously we must have changed it right?). It is going to be a long path to fix. I tried calling the SS office yesterday spent nearly an hour on hold before I was hung up on. I can't file our taxes until this gets fixed, and we really were hoping to get our refund sooner than later.

Baby girl turns 8 months today. Can't believe how fast the time is going!

Just some of the fun things we are doing right now, in our life. Sorry for the chaotic post right now, but that is our life. Chaotic.

Cheers!

Ashley

Week 5 of 52 Weeks To Become Less Homemaking Challenged

2013-02-02T20:16:00.000-08:00

#5 Start Your Day On The Right Foot

Have you ever had a day, when you woke up well rested, you started well and the day just went great? I love those days. They are amazing. You wake up before your alarm, you feel good, you get to enjoy a bit of the morning before chaos rules the house. (Trust me, with two kids and a dog, chaos rules most of the time). Those mornings when you get to start the day ahead of everyone and take some time for your self, and get a mental grip on the day. Those are the mornings I long for. Not the mornings where I am forced to jump out of bed and race for a screaming, teething child who just seemed to HAVE to wake up 1-2 hours early. Starting your morning off right sets the tone for the day, while if you have children you can't always control being the 1st one up, you can ensure that your days start of well by doing a few of these things...

1) Get to bed on time.

You can't wake up refreshed if you were up way too late the night before

2) Do a quite time.

I try and spend my first moments awake with the Lord. It is a time that I treasure, but if I don't wake up early enough one that gets cut short or is a challenge to find.

3) Sip on a hot beverage and down a full glass of water.

Doing this with in the 1st hour of waking up helps you wake up with tea, coffee or hot chocolate and allows you to slowly greet the day. The water helps you stay hydrated and makes sure you are running at full capacity.

Hope that these tips will help you start your mornings on the right foot!

Cheers!

Ashley

Miss a week? Here are the past 52 Weeks to Become Less Homemaking Challenged, so far clickhere to see a full list.