I enjoyed posting my To Do list last week, so I thought I'd start another one. This is stuff I'd like to get done this weekend. THe more I can get done today, the better. Some of these will be done with the kids helping, some will be delegated to oldest child or hubby, some will be done by me alone.

1. Clean kitchen: "buff" countertops, pine-sol walls/trim/cabinets, heavy mop floors.

2 Clean kids' bathroom & master bathroom, heavy mop floors

3. Finish laundry (two loads to wash, about four  to fold  & put away) - all of us together

4. Take stuff to Goodwill

5. Make a grocery list/ go shopping (or delegate to hubby)

6. Vacuum bedrooms (delegate to oldest child)

7. Do school: priority - dictation, copywork, mult table drill/test, independent work

8. Put boxes in attic

9. Take stuff to friend

Organization is not my strong-suit. I have several things that I need to get done, so I though I'd share them for some virtual accountability.

1. Do 4 loads of laundry (including folding & putting away) - TODAY

2. Pack bags for hospital

3. Pack boys' bags for grandparents

4. Hang up stars in the schoolroom

5. Hang up solar system in the schoolroom

 6. Hang up white board in the schoolroom (we'll add a 'frame' at some point)

7. Paint molding for schoolroom maps

8. Take picture of carseat for friend who made it - TODAY

9. Blog about great handmade gifts from shower (with pictures)

10. Organize schoolroom file cabinet

11. Hang up schoolroom curtains (pick them up from mom)

12. Put sheets on baby girl's crib

13. Hang up baby girl's name over her crib

14. Pick up childbirth books from friend.

15. Call doc about 10yo's meds

That's all for now, I may add more as I think of them. It will so good to be done with all these 'little' projects.

I've been in the mood for fun, crafty, COTTAGEY stuff. Here are some blogs that I've found to fill the need to feel 'creative', but not actually BE 'creative'.

http://cottagemagpie.com/

http://thecottagenest.blogspot.com/

http://acottageindustry.typepad.com/

http://annamariahorner.blogspot.com/

and of course...my cousin's blog. Scroll down for some cute stuff, and check the archives too!

http://www.mama2ryleigh.blogspot.com/

Martha Stewart, I am not. But lately I've been feeling awfully crafty and bake-y and just generally homemake-y. It all started with this set of pictures. This apartment is so adorable, and I love how she puts cute stuff together without it feeling all stuffy and formal. She's a hippy-Christian (you know, dreads, granola, homeschool, all that...) and her blog is pretty interesting.

I love stars and seeing hers reminded me that I had a whole bunch of vintage iron stars that I've never hung up. I'm just too symmetrical to know what to do with them. Anyway, I decided to paint them in funky colors and finally put them up. I haven't exactly decided where to put them yet, but when I do, I'll post a pic.

The boys also had cookie cravings yesterday, but without eggs or milk I was short on ways to turn basic ingredients into cookies. I decided to make no-bake-chocolate-oatmeal cookies. I've made them several times, but they never turn out the same. I couldn't find my usual recipes so I had to rely on allrecipes. They look great, but taste...interesting. They didn't harden up and are awfully gooey. But the boys love them.

Perhaps all this homemakey goodness means I'm 'nesting'. I've never really done that before. Of course, I've got six weeks to go...

We recently decided to rip up the carpet out of our dining room living room and have the concrete stained with an acid stain. We are somewhat pleased with the results. In hindsight, we should have realized that our slab wasn't in good enough condition to be acid-stained. I expected a high gloss finish, and it isn't glossy at all. I think that would really make a difference in the final look.

Here are some pics of the boys working. Scroll down and you can see pics of the finished product.

That's the 10yo cutting the carpet away and the 3yo rolling it up. What good workers they are!

 Much to my mother's chagrin, the boys and I ripped up the entire living room without my husband. We wanted to give him a headstart for cleaning and prepping the floors. Its not the best thing to do while pregnant.

Our 10yo was a big help in scrubbing up the carpet pad glue around the edges of the walls. It took him and my husband several hours to finish. I am so thankful to have a hard-working son.

Here's the final product. It looks dirty and in serious need of a mopping. But its clean. The white spots are where my husband had to patch the concrete slab, they didn't react with the acid the same way as the original foundation. We knew about that to begin with, but we just didn't expected it to look this way.

So, do a bunch of research before you try this project.

My husband must like morning people. Of course, I am not one of those. I require at least 20 minutes after waking to lay in bed, stretch, and 'think' about getting up. I have to mentally prepare myself to actually get out of bed. Not to mention the physical ailments of pregnancy. My back doesn't work in the morning, so without the proper stretching, I walk like a  deformed-French-bell-ringer for the first hour of my day. Forget making the bed...I don't have any strength in my hands that early.

Back to my husband. This morning he jumps out of his shower, all perky and cheery, and tells me to get out of bed so he can make it. I appreciate the thought, after all he's only trying to help me with this week's goal of waking before the kids do. However, being forcebly required to pop out of bed upon waking and participate in the ridiculous ritual of bed-making is akin to Chinese-water-torture. I don't know what's wrong with that man.

HOwever, it was nice to have a few minutes to read my devotions,  check email, and write this blog post before the hooligans wake up and attack me. Haha...now I can go on the offensive and attack the little monsters myself! Thanks, hubbby.

I'm really trying to figure out this whole "daughter" thing. I mean, after four boys, I'm not sure I can switch gears. I want to raise my boys to be brave enough to lead, and I want to raise my daughter(s) to be brave enough to follow. That is a minor issue compared to the one that I am truly having trouble with. It has plagued women for centuries. I have personally struggled with this issue ever since taking my marriage vows. I'm just not sure how to instill the qualities in my daughter that would inable her to overcome this horrendous burden of womanhood.

What am I talking about? LAUNDRY!

Yes, laundry, the absolute worst part of being a woman. I'd rather have hours of hard labor and pms every day than have to wash, fold, and put away a thousand little pairs of boxer shorts. In an effort to begin training my daughter from birth about the realities of laundry, I think I'll start with subliminal messages that tell her "laundry is good", "doing laundry is fun", "laundry is your best friend."  Fortunately, I found a very easy way to do this.

Hey, if you want your boys to like sports, give them ball and bat crib bedding. If you want to daughter to be snooty and self-righteous, give her princess crib bedding. So, I figured that clothes line bedding would produce a daughter who loves to do laundry.

Now all I have to do is wait until she's old enough to take over for me.

Life here has become pretty chaotic lately. Mostly because of my extreme laziness and lack of discipline in the areas of homemaking and child training. I hope to use the summer to get back on track, especially with the baby coming.

It is a poor testimony to always be sinking under the burden of our home workload. --Terri Maxwell, Managers of Their Homes

I love this quote, and I think its true. So many times I have crumbled under the huge weight of managing a home and training four children, not to mention helping a husband and nurturing various pregnancies. I know that this is what God has called me to, and I know that He equips those He calls. So, I have to believe that this job He has given me is possible, and completely within my realm of ability. I may have to change my attitude, my approach, or my habits, but I know that I am capable of eficiently running a home and raising Godly children. To do any less would be poor testimony of my life in Jesus.

I'm trying to sketch out a plan for the summer that involves homemaking and child training. Ideally, my children should come first and I should train them before jumping into housework. But I find that when the house is in chaos, I can't remain calm enough to effectively handle the kids. So, I plan on spending a few weeks working on the house, using techniques from the amazing book "The House that Cleans Itself". Then, I'll do some tight tomato-staking and training.

I'll try to get to the blog and share what I'm working on periodically. Mainly, just in case it can help someone else.

This morning I didn't want to be at home. When I get overwhelmed by the state of the house, I tend to throw the kids in the car and make a beeline for town. But between insane fuel prices, living 20 minutes from town, and driving a gas-guzzling-mega-truck, I am allocated to one trip a week. So, this morning, I was feeling sorry for myself. I decided to sit down and write out all the things that I was thinking and praying. I'll let you peek, just in case these words can help another overwhelmed mom.

Lord, I don't want to be here today. I wish I could take the car and drive anywhere. Sometimes I hate being stuck here. I feel like I am at a crossroads, but I don't know which road to take. I don't want to get up from this seat and still be discouraged. At some point, I have to make a change. At some point I have to choose to be happy where I'm at - which includes babies, and dishes, and high gas prices, and loads of laundry.

Why can't I find joy in any of these things? I just want to be a cheerful mother and homemaker. But I feel like its impossible. The house is always a mess and the kids are always screaming.

I'm afraid this is my last chance. I have a feeling that whatever I do when I get up from this seat will determine my future. I can choose to live like I have been or I can choose to change. I can get up and let the kids run around the house while I cope with the chaos by surfing the internet. Or I can choose to RIGHT NOW get up and do the dishes and smile and have the children help me.

But mostly, I can choose to be content with where I am right now. I am in a house that needs some cleaning and surrounded by kids that need some training. Yes, the job will be hard. No, it won't be much fun. But whose job is it?

It's mine.

After that, I got up, put on some upbeat Christian music, assigned the kids jobs and went to work on the dishes. The dishes were stinky, I'm not sure how long they sat there. The 2yo kept getting water all over the floor (he was my washing helper) and the baby kept snuggling his face into my rear, as a means of saying "Hi mom! I'm down here, don't you want to play?" But, I did it. I prayed and sang, and winked at the baby, and God proved to be good.

I know how you feel, when the house is a mess and your kids are a mess and your life is a mess. And each day we have to make the choice to ignore the mess or to tackle the mess. It was the hardest thing to get up from that seat and choose to not ignore my mess any longer. Only with the help of God's grace, which He gave freely after I poured out my frustrations to Him, was I able to get past the stinky dishes and the noisy kids, and see that this was a mess that was worth cleaning up.

A few weeks ago I hosted a Bunco party at my house. Our bathroom was in sore need of a makeover, since we had begun ripping wallpaper off months before, but hadn't  finished the job. The wallpaper wasn't coming off completely and was leaving an ugly mess behind, so we kept postponing finishing the job. Having company is always a good excuse to complete undone projects.

We used a sand-textured paint for the walls, to cover up any dings and scratches. It worked really well. The only thing we would do differently is to cut in the edges with plain paint (same color, no texture) and then texture the rest of the walls. Cutting in with thick, sandy paint is difficult. Or so says my hubby. I don't paint. Not out of laziness, but out of my hubby's desire to not dislike my sloppy job.  :)

Here are some pictures to show you how nicely everything turned out. My oldest son wanted a beach theme, and I didn't want it looking like a cheap Florida condo. I think we have a good compromise. Most everything was bought at WalMart, except for a wooden seagull we found at Ross and the shells that we put into the glass jars.

After a week of very funky pregnancy blues and too many loads of laundry, I decided to take control of my life. I'm tired of having laundry on the loveseat. I'm tired of having four baskets constantly overflowing with dirty clothes. 

So, this morning, the boys and I are getting all the laundry washed and we're boxing most of the clothes up.  Each boy will keep three everyday outfits, one dress-up outfit, two pjs, a hoodie (our climate is too warm for coats), socks and underwear. The rest of the clothes stored in the shed for later. This isn't permanent, but is only to give my mind and body a rest during this tiring time of early pregnancy. I had to do something to ease the pressure.

I've pared down our wardrobes before, but not to this extent. Emotionally, it is a hard thing to do. Most of the boys clothes have been bought by the grandmothers, so I feel bad for putting them away. However, this is my life and I'm the one doing laundry, so I have to do what makes it easy for me. I hate having lots of clothes, mainly because I always dress the boys in the same three outfits anyway. 

I'll post pics later. Just imagine having almost empty closets and perfectly empty drawers!

Considering yesterday's post about my lack of organization, I thought I'd link to some good articles on being an "effective woman."  Enjoy.

7 Practices of the Effective Woman

1.    She rises early
2.    She maintains the spiritual disciplines
3.    She focuses on relational priorities for every season
4.    She sets up regular times for planning
5.    She develops an effective to-do list system and calendar/planner system
6.    She establishes an efficient routine for managing her home
7.    She organizes her house systematically

Check out the articles, and the "Girl Talk" blog of Carolyn Mahaney and her girls.

Sometimes I feel like our life is so chaotic. Mostly, its my fault. I do not properly manage my home. I know other homeschool moms with more kids that I have can do it well, so what is wrong with me? Is it spiritual? Why can't I just get organized and get stuff done and consistently do school for two consecutive months?

Aagh!

At some point I just have to stop belly-aching and JUST DO IT. But why does it seem so hard? Why does it seem like everyone else is doing a better job?

Go over to Victorious' place and give her your input on internet/software based organizational systems.  Her son is considering creating something specifically for homeschool moms.

For those of you who use Household Notebooks, I have a few questions?

-is this your only planner?

-do you use a portable planner or what do you carry in your purse?

-is every aspect of your life in the household notebook?

I need to get/make a planner, but I'm not sure what kind.  I need something for to-do lists, calendar, projects list.  I need to incorporate homeschool, writing deadlines, everyday living, church activities, hubby's activities, etc.

So, is it possible to organize all of that into one planner?  Or do I have to have planner for each thing (homeschool, writing, household/everyday).

It's Show and Tell Friday time again.  Thanks to kelli @ There's No Place Like Home for hosting it. 

The first time I heard about Simplicity Journals was over at Eyes of Wonder  I remember keeping journals like that when I was younger, but I guess I thought that adults had to keep serious journals.  Here's a peak into mine.

This is the journal that my sister gave me for Christmas a few years ago. She decorated it herself.

The cover page...

This page shows clothes that I love: feminine, modest, and pretty.  Oh the opposite page is a Lane Bryant lingerie add.  I didn't want to post it, for obvious reasons, but that pictures helps me realize that beauty comes in all sizes.

The inspiration for my bedroom, lots of black and white.  The ottoman is something I want my hubby to build me one day.  I have the material, a gorgeous cream striped fabric.

This page is about my mom.  A few months ago we sat down in a cofee shop and had one of the best conversations of our lifes.  That was a turning point in our relationship, and I wanted to remember it.

For me, my journal is a catch-all notebook, scrapbook, planner.  There is no formula, no perfection.  I put everything from to-do lists, school notes, recipe ideas, and more.  Its like an idea file, homemaking binder, and planner all in one.

I keep a basket of books by my bed.  I thought I'd share what is in my basket.  The first thing is my big black journal.   My sister decorated it for me, and I fill it full of ideas and dreams, and tons of pictures from magazines.  I'll try to post about it soon...pics included!

And the following books...

My husband thinks this is silly, but I actually do these facercises from time to time.  I've noticed too many older women with lines that seem like they could be avoided.

My sister reccomended this book to me, and its pretty good, so far.

I really struggle with having time with God and cultivating that relationship.  This book has helped me understand the HOW and WHY to having a quiet time

This book is full of ideas that will help any mom keep simple scrapbooks and memory books for her kids.

I use this devotional some days, on others I prefer Oswald Chambers' My Utmost for His Highest.  We keep that book in the bathroom, though :)

And a bunch of magazines...

Figure Magazine - great plus size magazine

Country Living Dec 2005

The Old Schoolhouse Summer 2007

Home Education Magazine March-April 2006

WORLD - August 18, 2007

Better Homes and Gardens (four copies)

Good Housekeeping August 2007 - I bought this because of the main story about women losing half of their body weight.  Very inspirational!

Charisma September 2007

My challenge as a homemaker is to limit our posessions to what is necessary for living well, so that excess stuff will not consume our thoughts, time, space, and efforts.  My challenge to have less will make my home appealing, beautiful, functional and a place of quiet rest for my family. 

I wrote the above on a tiny notebook with a hot pink pen while I was sitting amidst piles of clutter that had gathered in my never-used dining room.  Why do we let our homes become havens for junk instead of havens for our hearts?  I didn't realize what an impact excess stuff had on me until I realized my frazzled state of mind was due to my frazzled state of house.  Or is the other way around?

When we have to step over piles of junk, when there is no tidy spot for our eyes or bodies to rest upon, then our home is not a haven of quiet rest, but a hell of chaos mess.  We shouldn't expect our precious husbands to live that way, and we shouldn't teach our children that it is an acceptable way to live.  It is our challenge, the homemaker's challenge, to have less and to create rest in our homes.

I've done all the boys' closets!! Yeah!  I have 7 trashbags full of clothes that I am sorting, then storing or donating.  That is just crazy.  The clothes that are left for all four boys could probably fit into one trashbag.  So, that means that I got rid of 7/8 of their clothes...that is 87%.  Do you think they can survive on only 13% of their original wardrobe?  Sure hope so!!

I'm getting sick of my blog.  AGAIN!  I'll probably try to make it look like it did before.  I thought I saved the code for it, but I can't find it anywhere.  That means I 'll start from scratch, and work my way up.  We'll see.