Tuesday To Do's

It's a chilly Tuesday here and it has been raining for 2.5 day straight. The sun is coming out and everything has grown inches from the rain. I am very excited about this. The big kids are off to school. One early because she had chorus this morning and the other on time via bus.

Now that the house is quiet some what , I still have my 5 yr old preschooler who is home preschooled and will need his lesson, yet I sit here thinking what I should place on my to do list and pray I have the energy and strength to keep up with my normal to do's since I am still fighting and awful chest and sinus cold along with still healing from my radiation burns from my cancer treatments. Depression has shown it's ugliness along with headaches such two nasty side effects from my post cancer medications.

Yesterday I made bread and breakfast muffins. Today my daughter requested pancakes to be made and froze. She likes to heat them up and serve herself in the morning.

I need to clean my son's room and organize it so his new bunk bed can be set up on Thursday. He doesn't know yet that he is getting a big boy twin bed. He is going to be so surprised and so happy. Me on the other hand will be filled with tears as I see my little boy, my last one, so tiny to me, sleeping in a big bed not his toddler bed no more. I wish often they could stay small just a little longer than they do.

Gardening-

hmmmm not much here today since my wonderful husband helped me weed and plant on Saturday before the rain. We planted 8 basil, 2 boxwood basil, 2 rosemary, 4 dills, 1 orange, 1 apple mint and a row of butter leaf lettuce. The rhubarb and the asparagus is coming up that we planted a week ago. That is very exciting.
I do have 2 apple trees to relocate that are still small so I guess I will do that for gardening. I was thinking one on each side of the stone steps leading to the berry and herb garden would look really nice in the backyard.
Maybe if the yard dries up enough I will cut the grass in the afternoon.

Crafting-

I am hoping to work on my hand quilting and finish up the area in the hoop. This would finish one of the many blocks on the Oak Quilt and I will be able to move the hoop over. I do need to take time this week to get the April B. O. M.'s done because May is just around the corner.


Chores -

Bible lesson
bill paying
laundry
dishes
cleaning of the kitchen table and counter
sweeping and washing of the kitchen floor
putting away winter blankets from the living room and placing out the summer ones.
decluttering the living room floor from toys and vacuuming
cleaning the 2 bathrooms
feeding the animals including the chickens
and making dinner.

One thing that is nice is that archery for my oldest is cancelled today so I don't have to play taxi today and I get to just stay home and keep chugging along but I do have to play detective today and find the missing Boy Scout day bag.

Well let me begin my day and I will report back later.

Mama Oak

Spring is here and so it's time for change and a renewal.

Good Morning!

Welcome Spring and Spring like weather! I am glad to see you. Spring is the season of rebirth and new beginnings and ending my cancer and moving forward with healing makes this perfect timing but then again all is perfect timing with the Lord.

How to do you all plan to renew and refresh your homes and lives this week?

Even though my hot water decided to poop on me last night and hot water is key to laundry and dishes and such there is still so many things that can be done and organized. <3

Today's to do list.

Part 1- 8:30 to 11
Clean off kitchen table.
Take all the clothes out of my daughters room and fold neatly by category on kitchen table.
Bring up my daughters clothes bins from the basement.
Put away fall/winter and replace with spring/summer.
Place clothes all back neatly.
Donate those that are now to small.
while listening to my Bible studies and Cole does is preschool work.


Part 2 - 11 to 1
lay out plastic for weed control in upper garden
plant cold weather crops.
fertilize
lay out plastic for night time cover to protect from frost.
Take pictures as I go. Really looking forward to hopefully a wonder crop this year to can and freeze.

Part 3 - 1 to 3
fold and put away the laundry in the living room and vacuum and wash living room rugs and downstairs area rugs
turn fan on.

Part 4 - 3 to 4:30
make dinner
exercise for 30 mins

This should take me from now till 4:30pm.

Then the evening will be devoted to my husband and kids. Except for some down time before bed hand quilting on my quilt.

How are you spending your day? Do share!

A New Beginning...2012!

As I sit here thinking of things I would like to chance like, money, relationships, organization to be better and more I am reminded of the things I can not change like my battle with cancer is not over and I have 7 weeks Monday thru Friday of radiation still.

I only hope God gives me the strength and the knowledge to continue with my life and the wonderful ways he has taught me to be with friends and family. My relationship with my husband has never been better in both worldly love and spiritually!

One of the biggest chances that will effect us the hardest is living up to the no credit way of life that God has expressed many times over to be a sin. If that means to live without then that is what God wishes.

I am actually looking forward to a more 1950's way of life then I have been trying to live already.

I hope you all follow along while we go through this very hard process in this 2012 way of life. The outside world with it's un-Godly influences can be strong at times and that is where our strength and prayers will come in handy. You can pray for us too in that we can stay focus and on track. That would be greatly received. <3

Today I started with cleaning out the bill file and setting it all up for a cash only way or life and recording for 2012. I was even able to apply a small amount of money into the savings and on a credit card.  I am hoping to not only build up the savings but take care of all the credit cards once and for all this year.

I have also asked hubby and I will do the same, to record all daily expenses to be reviewed and tracked. This will help with keeping track of un-necessary spending and possible spur of the moment spending because you will think twice before writing it down... at least I know I will.

Well enough said and I hope you follow along like I requested as we go through daily scheduling of chores and money debt recovery and crafts and baking and much much more!

Do not forget to take time with the Lord today and write your blessings and I am thankfuls  in your journal. even the smallest things are Blessings in Life!

Mama Oak

Tidy Tips...How To Organize Your Inexpensive Jewelry

Tidy Tips...

How To Organize Your Inexpensive Jewelry

I love to find flea market, yard sale, thrift store and clearance priced jewelry. But I hate having it all tangled up or not even remembering what I have in my draws and boxes to match my thrifty outfits. This is also not being responsible and respectful of your money and your items. It doesn't matter how much it was it still needs to be respected and cared for.

I don't have a huge collection but I do enjoy having it all out like a store to see what I have at a glance. But how can I get that without spending a lot of money. Seriously have you seen the price tags on those custom organizers.

Well my husband found the best way for it and not only did it fit my needs but my closet and my budget. He is an amazing and wonderful man!

In one day he cut a piece of peg board (the kind with holes in it)  to fit a weird space on my closet wall that was doing nothing but just waisting space. He carefully cut it to fit and screwed it up with two small pieces of wood to mount behind it to create a space for the hooks to hang behind the holes.

Now, I carefully purchased from Lowe's and carefully figured which hooks I needed to hang what I owned. I bought ones for bracelets and earrings and long necklaces and shorter ones.  I was even lucky to have found two basket like holders that could hold my sunglasses and huge bangles.

Now when I get dressed it's fun and I totally look forward to accessorizing.

 

It's a great feeling to be organized and the time saved it awesome!

Set Your Goal. Step one.

Have you ever sat back and just looked around at your home and thought of your life and how it ended up? Do you like it or not? Do you just like some of it and dislike the rest? If you have not thought about it then take some time and just do that.

When I did this I learned that God has placed me in a wonderful marriage with great children. I am able to be a stay at home mother and wife, which I truly adore this lifestyle. But, I am unhappy with the way my house tends to be unkempt. That my ability to let go of the clutter is to difficult  for me. It's like a big black hole sucking me in and draining me of life. It causes arguments with my husband. It causes me to be a hypocrite to my children when I ask them to clean their rooms. It causes me to feel embarrassed and to lie by making up excuses to help "  please excuse the mess" which is a sin. It even causes me to be stressed out and late for events.

This is not what I want! I want to feel happy, comfy and content in my home as well as I know you do too!

But how can this happen? How can I create a home environment that is welcoming,, clean, organized and still have time to sleep and breath?

Well it's easy, I just keep telling myself over and over again. " You need to take baby steps and let it all go that you don't need all these things to simplify and organize." Like the Little Engine that could " I think I can, I think I can, I know I can, I know I can..."

I will do this! You can follow along as I break down each area of a mother's daily life, a homemaker's daily life, a wife's daily life. a woman's daily life and a Godly daily life.