Survival Mode

Those of you who read my blog post about naming this blog know that saying "I am survivng" is a bad habit I am trying to break.  However, there are times when it is okay to be in survival mode.  This past week was one of those weeks.  We started back to school,  we had our homeschool group's program, Hannah and I took a girl's only shopping trip, softball practices started, and I kept extra children at different times.  I was in survival mode...doing what had to be done each day, no pm scheduled work, dinner on the fly, and at times, from the gas station, diapers on my toddler instead of underwear, showers every other day....survival mode.  And it worked.  Sure, the house was a WRECK this morning,  the laundry was behind,  the fridge was a mess, the grass needed cut, BUT I survived.  The program was a great success, the shopping trip with Hannah was profitable in more ways than one, we were not late for any practices, and today my toddler has used the potty like a champ.  So far, I have reclaimed the kitchen, dining room, living room, and den.  I have mowed the yard, done four loads of laundry, done some necessary online shopping, and will very soon commplete a blog post. 

Survival mode is okay and at times even neccessary.  The trick is to not let it become a habit.  If survival mode is your only mode, then something (for me it is my attitude, mostly) must change.  Survival is good, but living an abundant life is better. 

A Story

Guess what I did the other morning?  I wrote a children's story!!  It's not finished...editing and tweaking must happen, but it is all scribbled on a piece of paper.  It is on the top and bottom of the paper, on the back and front of the paper, and all around the edges of the paper, but it is there waiting for me.  I love when that happens!  I love the anticipation of getting to fine tune the words and arrangement!  I love touching a part of myself that is often buried under life!  It is just refreshing.

The Results!!

I accomplished a LOT this week!!

I made costumes for our play.

I have been helping three teenage girls prepare an acapella piece, and they paid me back this week by cleaning all my light fixtures......

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and painting ALL the boards for our upstairs construction project!








Hannah got to paint, too.








I organized my utility room.  Here is before......

and after!

My favorite addition to my laundry room is the sorter I found on pinterest.  My honey built it, the kids and I painted it and it is wonderful!!!  Now everyone sorts their own laundry, and when a basket is full, I pop it into the washer.

The utility room needs a few more details, and then I will post pics of the finished room, but I am very pleased with my spring break.



 And just in case you were worried about all work and no play for the kids, I'll just post this pic of their mud fight!

HA!!

In Progress

Spring Break- Day 1...Sort of

Spring Break....YAY!!!!!!!!  So many projects, so little time.  I have been on spring break for a week already (we went to Texas and had a wonderful visit with my family), but from a project stand point this is day one.  I have so many things I want to do, I am feeling overwhelmed.  Do I paint the downstairs?  Do I paint upstairs?  Organize cabinets? Landscaping projects?  A day at the park?  Make play costumes?   AHHHHH!!!!

When I have a list like this, where I want to do everything at the same time, it is important to remember how to eat an elephant....one bite at a time.  I have to pick a task, focus on that ONE task until it is completed, and then move on.  I will prioritize by doing projects with a deadline first (the play is coming, the play is coming).  Then I will move to projects that are holding up others (my husband can't install the ceiling upstairs until I get it painted).  I will finish with projects that will make me smile the most.  I plan to post pics of all I accomplish throughout the week.  Hope you and I  have a productive spring break!!!

Training Pays Off

Days like today encourage a Momma.  My husband just finished a night shift.  When he works nights, the house goes downhill fast.  We can't clean in the day while he sleeps, we can't clean while he gets ready because we visit with him, we sometimes manage to clean up supper, take baths and go to bed.  So the days after a night shift are spent catching up.  I told my 9 year old daughter today that her bathroom and bedroom had to be cleaned.  

Here are the before pictures of the bedroom

And here are the after!

This is the same daughter I once spent an hour with picking up 20 blocks.  Yes, that's right....20 blocks...one hour.  She was crying, I was crying, and all I wanted to do was quit.  I kept thinking how much time I was wasting making her do a job I could have finished in 1 minute.  I felt so guilty and mean for making her cry so hard.  I wondered just how crazy I was.  But I stuck it out.  And today I spent 0 minutes cleaning her room, 0 minutes cleaning her bathroom, and 0 minutes putting away dishes.  Time spent training a child is NOT wasted.  And this I need to remember.

PM Schedules Revisited

There is a problem with my PM schedule.  It is not working.  I think the main problem is that my life doesn't functions in chunks of time.  I can't say I will spend 10 minutes working in the kitchen, because I can't put 10 uninterrupted minutes together until about 1:30 in the afternoon, which is nap time.  Normally, nap time is used to do school with my daughter while my son sleeps, so even then 10 minutes can be hard to come by.  Also, messes don't happen in chunks of time.  If I do spend 10 minutes in the kitchen in the morning, you can't tell by the time I go to bed, because life has happened in the intervening hours. I need a schedule that works with my day, instead of one that interrupts my day.

 If you have seen my PM schedule, you will notice I have three chunks of timed chores listed...10 minutes on the kitchen, school room, and my secret sins.  Instead of these chunks of time, I am going to try a checklist.  This is what my maintenance man hubby uses at work.  Hospitals have begun using checklists for surgeries and other tasks.  Checklist improve efficiency, prevent overlooked items, and save time.  These improvements are exactly what my PM schedule needs. So here are my checklists:

Kitchen

Make sure the dishwasher has been unloaded

Load the dishwasher

Clean off the counters

Clean off the counters after lunch

Clean off the counters after supper

Hand wash any dishes that won't go in the dishwasher

Run the dishwasher

Sweep the floor

School Room

Have my student pick up all school books and supplies before releasing her for the day

Clean off my desk

Pick up the floor

Vacuum the floor...yes, daily.

Clean the board

Secret Sins

Monday.....car

Tuesday.....fridge

Thursday...closet

Friday....under a piece of furniture...maybe more than one

Saturday....fielder's choice

I hope this works better. We will see.