Stomach Flu Blues;/

Our whole house was hit by the stomach flu this week. No fun at ALL! In the midst of all of my misery I have been reading a ton of different blogs, and trying to figure out ways that I can improve my own.

I confess that someday, I hope to be one of those awesome mommy bloggers that actually has a good amount of regular readers. Since this blog is so new, I am still learning and getting into the swing of things.

I would LOVE to know from anyone out there who IS reading...

What can I do to improve my blog?

What is it about other blogs that you frequent that makes you want to go back?

Any help or constructive criticism would be appreciated!!

MIA! but I am back to stay!!!

I am back.

I plan to blog regularly from now on, and I hope to be consistent. I had a bit of a hard time adjusting after vacation and after hearing about baby Reese. I seemed to really battle with my anxiety and just could not seem to accomplish much at all. I have been praying and really trying to focus on cherishing every moment with my kids and I am feeling a little better now.

I have also been trying to get into a household management routine. I am just disorganized and frazzled the majority of the time, so it is time that I really get into some routine.

I am setting small goals for myself, and at times it feels so juvenile and pathetic, but whatever works! My goal for the time being is to finish one load of laundry a day. I am not doing that well with it yet, but everyday is another day that I can challenge myself to do it!

I am also trying to limit my online time. I LOVE the Internet. I LOVE reading blogs, visiting my birth board, and just touching base with the outside world via facebook. I think it is because I sometimes feel quite isolated being home with the kids. Regardless, I need to spend time doing things that matter more to my family and somehow balance that with my "free" time.

Anyway, wish me luck! I have a list of posts that I need to catch up on.

Happy March Everyone!!!

Back to reality, and oh so sad:(

I am part of a birth board. I joined it sometime during my 10 weeks on bed rest when I was pregnant with my daughter, she is almost four now. This is an amazing group of woman and we all have April 2007 babies. We have bonded together and even when babycenter switch formats and changed our birth board, we all migrated together over to another site and have been there together ever since. we have a sisterhood of around 200 mothers and I feel very close to many of the moms on the board. I have met many of them in real life and absolutely adore them.

While I was gone in Florida, tragedy struck our board. A fellow mom who also has a post 2007 baby, lost her baby girl to SIDS. I found out when I got back in town and was completely blindsided and devastated. Knowing this mom, Shannon, it just hits so close to home. She is the nicest and most loving mother. She is a great friend, one of those people who can lighten even the most darkest moment for others.Yet here I am, helpless and unable to offer her anything but online support and love from a far.

I am comforted by the fact this wonderful group of woman banned together and raised over $1800 to help pay for funeral expenses, they are sending care packages to Josh (the April 2007 baby big boy) for as long as they can manage it, and there were even a handful of the group that flew and drove to Oregon to be with Shannon tonight for the viewing and tomorrow for the funeral.

I feel lucky. Blessed to be part of such an amazing group of woman, I know they all care so deeply about one another (and me). Proud to know that Shannon is feeling the love during the terrible time. This group of woman is so amazing and they know how to come together when ever anyone is in need and Shannon deserves nothing less right now.

My anxiety has been out of control since I heard the news, and I can't help but wonder how things like this can happen to someone so wonderful. I have faith that the Lord has plans and that baby Reese is resting peacefully in his arms, but still when things like this happen to people I know...I feel heartbroken for their loss and have such a hard time recovering. I feel it so deeply and have a hard time sleeping.

I wish I could be with Shannon right now and give her a hug.

Baby Reese was an Angel on earth, and now she is an Angel in heaven.

Please continue to pray for Shannon, AJ, and sweet little Josh as they begin to move on. Pray for comfort and healing.

We are back from Walt Disney World

We had an amazing time in Florida. It was a dream vacation and I was just so happy to be able to spend such quality time with my family.

We ate, we went on rides, we met characters, we ate some more, and we relaxed. Most of all we laughed together and enjoyed one another. This was a priceless time for us. It was filled with memories we will never forget and we have the 859 photos to prove it.

Now it is back to the grind, back to getting organized, back to time management and penny pinching. Why am I so overwhelmed?

Heading to Walt Disney World!

Well it is official, the family and I are heading to our first big vacation TONIGHT! We are going to spend 8 glorious, (I hope), days at Walt Disney World. I can not wait to come back and give you my reviews of all of the restaurants and resorts. Wish us safe travels!
This of course means that I will miss week 2 of the challenge and will have to catch up later. It also means that I will not be blogging while we are away, hubby says I have to leave the computer at home;/ He wants me to relax and just enjoy being together. I couldn't say no to that!
Have great week everyone!

Making Progress, and it feels so good!

I have been hard at work with my " household management" binder. I don't know why I never thought of this before. Having all of my lists and notes and calenders in ONE easy place. DUH! Thankfully, I stumbled across A Bowl Full of Lemons and joined the weekly challenge. I completed the challenge yesterday and can not wait to share the results with you!
                              

The tabs the relate to my nest are:

Calendar

To do

Meal Planning

Blogging

Cleaning

and Family Info

I found a ton of free printables online and from various blog suggestions! One blog that I found particularly helpful was Tips from a mom of 3. She has several lists of free printables and links to other blogs that you can follow, not to mention that her blog is just fabulous in general.

Here are the specific printables that I used:

-For my weekly family and household management schedule and my household management checklist (of tasks) I used  these printables from Everything Mom. This site is a great resource for any Dis- organized dud like me!

-For my week at a glance calender, I was a big copy cat and used the same one that was shown on the challenge at A Bowl Full of Lemons. She got her free printable here at Mommy Tracked.

- For My cleaning checklist, I found a simple one at Simplemom.net, she has some really great "home management hacks" and printables to keep you organized in all aspects of life!

- Organizedhome.com is where I was able to pick up some great meal planning printables as well as freezer and pantry inventory sheets. There are a ton of helpful downloads listed here .

I am still working on finding some more printables, but for now I feel like I am definitely headed in the right direction!

Challenge # 1- Homemaking Binder

If you would have told me years ago that I would someday be the mom that followed strict schedules and lists, I would have laughed. In fact, I remember years ago commenting to my husband about his mother's list and strict cleaning schedule. I thought it was a little lame to have to make lists and follow such a rigid schedule, but what did I know? Apparently not a whole lot about managing a household! It was only a few months after I had my daughter that I quickly realized that as soon as I was  responsible for more than just myself and my own stuff, it was incredibly hard to keep it all together. I was sleep deprived and had little to no focus on when the last time I did laundry was, or what I was going to cook for dinner next Tuesday. I guess the lists and schedules are really just one of the ways a busy mom can keep it all together! I have since adopted lists and schedules (though I rarely follow them), and meal plans, but they are all spread out in different areas of the house. Keeping them all in a binder is a genius idea! So, here goes nothing! Off I go to collect the necessities I need to someday be (gulp), just like my Mother- in- law???? Hey, whatever works!!!

Miss Dis-organized!

I am so Disorganized! I always have been really. This past June we moved into a new house and I was determined that THIS time I was going to be organized. I was going to be that meal planning, coupon clipping, laundry sorting, pantry stockpiling, mom who has her stuff together. Really what happened though, was that as soon as we moved in I got completely overwhelmed with deciding where to put things and how to use my space. Needless to say, I didn't get very far but I am still determined to change my ways and put "Miss Dis-organized" to rest for good!

I am super excited to join this challenge over at "A bowl full of lemons"! If you are like me and could really use some direction and inspiration when it comes to organizing, join us! There is one challenge per week and it seems like they could be something simple like "purge your winter clothes" or it could be something like starting a meal plan.

I will be on vacation for the first week of the challenge, but I plan to do double duty when I get back the second week in February!

Happy blogging!

It's 2011! I want to live it up!

I have always been a bit hesitant to post personal goals or resolutions where other people can see. Maybe this is because  I know that as time goes on, I may not succeed in accomplishing them and then I will have a ton of people who will know. On the other hand, what better way than to hold yourself accountable by putting it all out there. So here I am, sharing with you some of the things I will working on for 2011.

1. I want to blog regularly. I find it relaxing, therapeutic, and a great outlet for me to escape to>
2. I want to attend a Blog Conference! Like Really really bad. I currently have my heart set on "BlogHer 11", and it shouldn't be too hard considering it is in my neck of the woods this year in Sunny California. Now who wants to go with me???
3. I want to live it up. To me this means to live more for today and not worry so much about the future. As long as I am living according to God's will today, I should not be overly concerned about the "what ifs?" in life!
4.I want to work out more. UGHHH so Cliche, but really I am almost 31 years old and I just do not take care of myself like I should.
5. I want to make more time for myself. This means getting out more. I will plan times to get out at least twice a month. I need it and I always feel so refreshed after a few hours away from the kiddos.
6. I want to become a coupon queen and learn to shop for free! Yep, you heard me. More on this later, but I can not wait to see the fruits of my labor!
7. I know this may sound strange, but I want to spend less time on the computer and more time doing something that serves my family. If this means more reading stories, taking walks, baking, or even doing laundry to bless my family, well then so be it!

Bring it on 2011! I am ready to make this an amazing year!