Finding My Family's Weekly Rhythm

I have found that for my family, sticking to a tight schedule does not go well and neither is it healthy for us.  It took me a while to come up with a rhythm that works well for us.  For the most part we are able to stick with it. The most amazing thing about this is that if our day does not completely follow this I am fine.  Why?  Because I have found comfort with letting our days flow. 

 Yesterday, I knew that I wanted to share some of what I had been learning about Mary Seacole for our kidschool.  Let me just start off by saying that if you have never heard of her, you should learn about her!  We talked about both Mary Seacole and Florence Nightingale which then led to talking about the environment that Florence stepped into when she came to help regarding rats and lice.  I talked about why she moved things higher up and focused on keeping medical tools sanitized which my son wanted to learn more about lice and how others get it.  After this, we talked a little bit about the Crimean War.  I am going to further research more information from books on this matter and guess what!?  That's right!  Another kidschool will focus on the Crimean War.  It was so much fun and our kidschool went over, but I was not stressed out about it.  I was enjoying how things were flowing.  

Our rhythm consists of different block times.  This is one thing that has really helped me out.  I am not focused on a specific time that is right down to the minute, but rather a time frame.  My mind does well with this.  I feel that I have always been a person that has needed to have such structure that if anything had changed I would be lost.  I am so happy that this has put my mind to ease which has also helped my children not feel stressed out.  No running around our house trying to make something work or fit that only would cause us to get less done in a day.  That's right.  As a family my kids and I are able to focus on what's important during the day and we get even more accomplished.  This helps a great deal as my husband has a work schedule that leaves me alone with our kids way before the sun comes up.  We are able to enjoy our time when he is home because our days are smoother.  

One thing that never changes within our routine is that at the beginning of our kidschool we read scriptures, I read a children's scripture story, we sing a children's song or hymn and we say a morning prayer together.  This makes all of the difference in the world for our days.  I know that my kids and I need this to help jump start our day.  I also need my own personal time before my kids wake up.  I know that not everyone is a morning person, but for me this is also essential.  Some days I may have more time than others, but I need it.  I use it for personal study.  It is time well spent.

If you have a schedule our routine that is not working for your family and only causing stress, find out if little changes will help things to be better.  We should enjoy our time spent together.    

 I encourage you to find your family's rhythm!

You can find the amazingly free printable pack over at the Proverbial Homemaker blog!  Tauna has many wonderful resources!

Here is the link!

http://www.proverbialhomemaker.com/a-weekly-rhythm-planning-without-strict-schedules-printables.html


Head on over there and enjoy her freebies.

Username and Password? Please, Come Again...?

I know I am not the only one who has forgotten my username and password to a website or two, or even three. 

Oh, this has happened to you as well?

Glad I am not alone.

The final straw for me was when my kids wanted to visit one of their learning websites and I could not remember our login information for the life of me.  My children were actually waiting patiently, unitl twenty minutes later and I still could not seem to get it going for them.

I decided that was it. 

I was taking some action. 

It was not on my schedule for the day, but I am known to add a few things to my daily list here and there.  Right then and there, I grabbed what sheets of paper I could find that had login information written on them, grabbed a notebook and got to work.  It turned out great!

Here is how I put down the information for each website:

1.  Name of website
2.  Login information
3.  Purpose and use of the website (I use some websites for only some of its content)

Very simple, RIGHT! 


Now, if I ever forget my login inormation...

I will check my Login Notebook!

A New Year With A Plan In Action

Is it a new year already? 

Where did the time go? 

That's right, where did the time not go is more like it.  Welcome to Motherhood and life in general.

New changes have just begun for our family literally today and it looks very promising.

When your husband comes home happy from his training for a new position, I would say that makes for a great outlook.  Our family has always dealt with a schedule that is not of the norm when it has come to my husbands work, which has made for a not so normal routine for the rest of us within the home.  That all is changing and I am very excited, especially since I have always liked the company that he works for. 

At the beginning of each year we always hear about New Year's Resolutions.  I think it is great to have a goal in mind, but it is even more important to have a plan and then to execute it.  For instance exercise is very important to me and I could say that I want to exercise even more this year.  But, I like to have a plan to go along with my goals.  Last year was great in the workout department and this year I do hope to stretch it even more including my kids in a lot of the fun. 

YES, I schedule out my workouts!

Another item of business on my agenda has been cutting down the GROCERY BILL.  For this, I wanted to really focus on MEAL PLANNING, GARDENING and my FOOD STORAGE.

One of my Christmas gifts was the set of cookbooks for 30 Meals in one Day.  I absolutely love them and so many of the recipes in them.  I have made a few of the freezer meals before with some friends and now I have my very own set.  I have found that creating a menu plan for one to two weeks is what is best for my family.  I am focused on only buying what is on my list and that is it.  It takes determination, but it is very doable. 

With our nice backyard, I have decided that there is no reason to not a have a nice size garden.  It will take a lot of time, but the rewards will be great and it will be a family affair during this venture.

Food storage is always a great thing to have no matter what and so we will be building that up as well in a frugal manner, along with using my coupons.

I have found a website that is pretty awesome and stumbled upon in time for the New Year!  It is www.cozi.com and is a free organizing website.  Trust me when I say you will not be disappointed.  You can save recipes, create shopping lists, organize shedules and so much more. 

Welcome to 2014!

Organizing Our Home Both Physically And Mentally

As our purge comes to a close, I feel it has not only made our home feel good and look good, but also has helped our minds be uncluttered as well.  The way society is nowadays, we have taken the "more is better" approach to things.  I still love the saying that "less is more," at least when it comes to stuff that is.  When we fill our homes with too much of things that are not needed, or we have so much of already,  it can be hard to keep it in order. 

I have found that organizing your home and then keeping your home organized in a way that works for your family is best to also help keep our minds organized.  Sometimes I feel that stuff can take over other things of great importance.  Focusing on my personal beliefs and values are of great importance to me, along with what is important for my family's daily endeavors.  If my mind is consumed with worrying about what to do with our stuff, then by all means my family and I have a huge problem and it will be hard to stay in order. 

One thing for sure is my husband has never had an issue with stuff.  Lucky for him.  My kids and I did, in a sense of not wanting to get rid of, or throw things away.  I sure don't anymore.  If it is going to become junk, or we will not have use for it months down the road, out it goes.  My children have gotten better with toys as well.  We do not need more of the same type of stuff just to have more, because it will become clutter.  I have found that they are alright with bringing new stuff in and getting rid of something in its place with not much problem at all.  It used to be a bad battle that I was sure to lose every time.

I found what hobbies are important for me and am sticking with just those so I will only have stuff pertaining to those hobbies.  When our home feels free, our minds should fell free.  More time do other things, not worried about a bunch of stuff. 

There is nothing wrong with bringing home new things at all.  We do bring home new items here and there, but I know exactly what I will use it for and where it can be placed in our home.  Therefore, we have room for it.  The point for me is I have created and organized all of these spaces in our home, and therefore if it can be stored nicely then we can have it, if not, then something needs be taken out or reconsidered is all. 

We homeschool, enjoy to read and many other things, so we will have the need and/or want to bring more things home.  Again, this is alright!  It is just very crucial for me to know what is coming and going out of our home to keep track of our stuff and our minds.  After all, I am a gal who loves stuff.  I've just made the space to keep these things in order!

Not hard at all, once you have the mindset!