Another Day, Another Room to Organize

Today I decided to go through our closet and downsize my wardrobe.

The house we're renting right now has a beautiful big walk in closet - 

something I've never had before.

But I'm quickly realizing that it can be easy to just let things pile up with so much space.

Here's what I started with.

The boys did a great job of entertaining themselves in my tub while I got to work.

It didn't take long and I had removed -

1 Hoodie

2 Dresses

3 Skirts

3 Tank Tops

1 Sweater

7 Shirts

4 Pairs of Shoes

and Various Pieces of Jewelry.

One coat also got pulled out to be sent to the dry cleaners so that I can wear it again.

A few items I will pass on to a friend and the rest will be donated. 

While I was cleaning out my closet, I came across a 

Little Golden Book that I had bought last time we were in Alabama.

Scuffy the Tugboat 

was one of my favourite books to read when we were visiting my grandparents house as kids.

Ryder was so excited to read a new story while he ate his lunch.

Win Win!

And that was all before I finally got to addressing the growing mound of 

clean laundry that has been accumulating in my room.

 You'd think we had 10 kids and not 2 with the amount of laundry we go through!

 But with few episodes of Pioneer Woman episodes to keep me company, I made my way through the mountain and my children will finally have some clean pyjamas to wear.

And then Ryder hit the jackpot when Daddy got home 

from work and offered to read his new story again.

I feel like it was a pretty successful day of catching up, tidying up, and decluttering my closet.

I know a few of you are joining me this week in organizing and cleaning house -

how did you do?

A Week of Purging

We're home and getting right back at it.

This week one of my goals is to do some serious decluttering and purging in a few different rooms.

I started in the office where we have a few too many book boxes stacked - 

boxes that haven't been opened since our move a year and a half ago!

First things first.

I tossed out 48 old magazines ranging from home decor, to running, to recipes.

So much information is online now. 

If I need a recipe, I can browse Pinterest or check out FoodNetwork.com

Ryder found an old pair of swim goggles in the process.

Before long I had a whole box emptied.
It helped that the sun came out and Ryder decided to go entertain himself in the backyard.
Love this little boy's imagination and ability to play on his own!

And then proceeded to fill it with all kinds of other odds and ends that can be donated or tossed -

our ugly Christmas sweaters, a few kitchen items, etc.

So, who else is in?
Who's going to join me in cleaning out and purging this week?!

What To Do When It Feels Like Your Kids Get In The Way Of Life:

Since getting back from our long weekend camping trip I've been feeling pretty sluggish and fighting to get up and get a lot accomplished in the mornings. On Friday I finally decided to go ahead and write down what I hoped to get done during my day.

What is it about a list that inspires and motivates to action? Must be a weird personality thing. Here's what I came up with: 

The list stuck to the counter in my kitchen so pardon all of the water marks. :)

While I did go ahead and plan out my day from early on - the baby was up at 5 and Ryder was up at 6 - somehow the kids didn't pick up on my get 'er done mentality. Haha! Just a few things to accomplish, seems pretty reasonable, right? Well, those things turned into many more...

1. Breakfast (nurse Lynden, change diaper, take Ryder to the potty, get everyone dressed)

2. Bike Ride (leave, return home to pump up tires, return home to leave Dixie who was terrorizing the neighborhood dogs, finally get home after our ride to find that Ryder has had an accident in the bike trailer - sigh..., another trip to the potty, laundry, get dressed)

3. Pull Weeds (nurse the baby, rescue Ryder's tricycle stuck on the rocks, coach Ryder on where and where NOT to throw rocks, hunt for lizards with Ryder and find a few other creatures instead)

Can you spy the camouflage creature?

4. Wash Dishes, Clean & Clear Counters (shower, make lunch, feed everyone lunch, put Ryder down for a nap, wash one dish, feed a bite of food to Lynden - yes, he's started solids!, wash one dish, wipe that last whole bite that is dribbling down his chin, wash one dish, feed Lynden a bite, etc.)

5. Fold Laundry (change yet another dirty diaper, nurse the baby, pour a 5th cup of coffee, scrub crayon off of the floor, find a full episode of The Pioneer Woman to watch - yes, this is relaxed as I get these days. :)

6. Deep Clean Master Bath (Set Ryder up with water and a snack to 'watch the thumper go boom boom' instead of being scared of the thunderstorm, What?! It's 6 already! Time to make dinner...)

Sometimes at the end of days like these I look back and wonder what I did all day. If you have kids at home, I'm sure you can relate!

As you can see, not so streamline as originally planned. But, at the end of the day, all of the important things got done and these two were just as happy as could be. 

I need to remind myself of this often, but for today, my consolation is this:

So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

1 Corinthians 10:31

Days like this are not a write-off. 

They aren't treading water. 

They don't keep us from really living life. 

They are real life!

So, are you a Mama? 

Glorify God.

Are you single?

Glorify God.

Wherever you are, 

whatever you're doing, 

there - glorify God. 

Boys' Rooms Complete!

Happy Friday!

I'm back! I took a day off yesterday to complete a few orders from my Etsy shop, but got back at it today. It was high time to go through and tidy each boy's room, so those were my projects today. 

First off, Lynden's room. The trouble with Lynden's room is that it used to store all of my sewing/crafting supplies - actually, it still does. I just bought clear plastic totes and organized everything in his closet when he arrived. Unfortunately, I can get lazy sometimes and leave my things out instead of putting them away neatly when I'm finished a project. Plus, with some new fabric gifted recently (thanks Darcey!) I didn't have a spot set aside for it yet and it just found a home on Lynden's change table. 

Enter motivated Mama, and....voila! 

Room once again organized and tidy.

Oh, and let's not forget the 'baby t-isses.'

The same thing went for Ryder's room, except his mess tends to be of his own doing. So we made his bed, picked up clothes, emptied the laundry basket together, and then I decided to repurpose an old crate that was just storing extra diapers, wipes, and bedding, into a little bookshelf. Previous contents were tucked into his closet and we're now in business. 

I have a feeling that his new messes will be books all over the floor. This little guy loves to 'read.'

 Half way through our clean-up, Ryder decided that he wanted the rocking chair in his room. This little guy is already king of distractions when it comes to getting work done. :)

 And that's that!  I'm considering unloading, cleaning and organizing my kitchen pantry next. Anyone else been putting that one off?? :S

Stay tuned...

Day 3 - This Time A Success!

After yesterday's unsuccessful attempt to get my laundry room in order, I decided to choose a much less difficult task to complete today. I need that feeling of success at the end of my day. With that in mind and also preparing to dog-sit for a couple of days, I chose Dixie's room to deep clean today.

If any of you need proof that we really truly live in a desert, here it is!

Floors were swept and mopped, food bowls dishwashed, shoes straightened, crate and bedding cleaned, nasty dog-nosed window wiped, etc. and we are back in business!

Much better!  Though I'm not sure why Dixie is looking at me like that. You think she'd be loving her new clean room and not looking all sheepish.

I even found a few minutes of time to plant my second raised vegetable garden box. This one should grow tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, squash, cantaloupe, and watermelons. My other box has shoots coming up nicely. Not exactly in nice neat rows though, thanks to the chickens and my dog that got in there one too many times.

If all else fails, at least we'll have some kale this year!

And since it's been a little while since I swamped you with photos of the boys, here are a few recent shots. Ryder is up early and begged to hold Baby Lynden - he loves his brother so much, I couldn't turn down the request.

This little fella is just all smiles these days. <3

Progress Counts for Something

It's Day 2 - time to get started on the laundry room. It's one of the smallest rooms in our house, but the work that gets done there is some of the most important, especially with mess-making kiddos. While I don't usually have a problem with getting loads washed and dried, they do tend to sit in the basket waiting to be folded - for much too long.  As you can see, today is no exception. And this is just since this weekend.

Up here, my ironing baskets haven't been touched in a few weeks, other than pulling out and ironing just what I needed on Sunday. It'll feel good to finally see a few empty baskets and be caught up for at least a day or two.  Also hanging, I have some dress shirts that I picked up at the cleaners well over a week ago. Time to put everything in it's place.

Well, the day got away from me just a little bit. I made it through getting my kids ready, dropped off, and to the dentist by 8am. Things went downhill from there, though I did spend a few hours on the on today's goal. 

Laundry Folded & Put Away

Headway Made on My Ironing

A few things you should know about this picture:

1. This isn't all of it. I finished 15 items before Braden said he was on his way home from work.

2. Half of the shirts are Ryder's.

3. Ryder still has more dress shirts in his closet.

4. Ryder's Mama might buy him too many dress shirts...

The long and the short of it is that I tried to get my laundry room spick and span today and didn't quite make it.  But progress is still rewarding, even if I was a little too ambitious. That's the beauty of motherhood. One additional load of laundry was required today because after Ryder tipped over my water bottle and spilled my glass of orange juice, he decided to throw his creature in the toilet. Really?!  Haha, life with a toddler!

Anyone out there going to join me today in catching up on laundry and/or deep cleaning your laundry room?

 In other news, in an attempt to come up with interesting and not terribly unhealthy lunch snacks, I tried a new granola bar recipe today.  The only thing I changed was adding a cup of peanuts (maybe next time I'll try peanut butter too) and they turned out great.

Goals For The Week

Our last week was a beautiful break from our Apperson norm. I had a friend in town and so set aside most of our usual routine in order to just take it easy and enjoy our company. Boy was it nice! I'm not sure who was on vacation, because we sure benefited from our sweet guest. She cleaned and swept, watched the boys while I went to the dentist a couple of times and then again a few evenings so that Braden and I could date. I enjoyed relaxing late mornings over endless mugs of steaming coffee and listening to another voice read Ryder his Richard Scarry and construction site books. Did I mention that she also baked up a storm? 

But now that we're back to just us, I need to get my act together again and get back to the things I set aside. In order to make each item on my to-do list seem a little more manageable, I've decided to tackle one room or area of my house each day in hopes that by the end of the week, my house will be back to operating at full capacity.  

Here's a little fun fact about me...  I don't get stressed very easily. In fact, I can't remember the last time I lost sleep for any reason other than a needy child. That's just how I roll. The one thing that causes me the most anxiety, however, a mess within sight. Am I the only one that has a hard time concentrating where there's work to be done all around me?

So here's my goal for the week. One project a day until all of the glaring chores have been taken tackled.

WILL YOU JOIN ME?

Day 1: Kitchen

Before - don't judge!

Until recently, our kitchen was getting out of hand in the messy department on weekends. We would just leave things out instead of putting them right away after using them. A couple of weeks ago, Braden really stepped up and helped me get on top of things and we decided to give a few minutes throughout our weekend days to clean as we went in the kitchen. Making it a team effort has really saved us a lot of time as well as made my Mondays a lot more enjoyable. 

But this weekend things got a little busy. On Saturday I was in Reno most of the day, dropping my friend off at the airport and running errands. That evening and then again early Sunday morning Braden and I were busy helping a friend with plans for a surprise party (what fun!) and so by the time church and the party were over and we'd made an impromptu trip to Reno to pick up a Craigslist find, the kitchen was once again a nightmare. 

After - deep sigh!

But, everything is once again in it's place and I'm feeling back on track - and much less stressed - already!

I would love to have you join me this week in getting on top of your housework as well - surely I'm not the only one that gets behind....

Let me know if you're on board, I'd love the mutual encouragement...and Happy Monday!

An Impromptu Kitchen Date with Ryder

Today was a long work day for Braden. Inevitably that makes for a long day here at home as well. Usually on days like today I take a break in the kitchen (smoothie for breakfast, banana bread for lunch, and granola for dinner) and I was planning on it until this evening when I could tell that Ryder was desperate for some undistracted Mama time.

It was already 7pm (his normal bedtime) and I was feeling like I didn't have a lot to show for my day - we'd had a playdate in the morning with some new friends and I had been able to do a bit of gardening while the boys napped in the afternoon. There were a few items on my counter and in my fridge that needed to be dealt with though, and so with a bit of reluctance at first (it would be so much easier, faster, and cleaner if I were to just do it myself) I asked Ryder if he wanted to be my big helper.

"Helper Mama!"

Immediately he perked up.

"Hop up"

And so I lifted him up onto the counter beside the Vitamin and we got to work.

First on my to-do list was to turn our almost over-ripe avocados into guacamole for the weekend. Ryder peeled the stickers off of the outside (a great start to helping) and managed to squish one so much that its green insides began to spill out. Yep, they certainly needed to be used. He was also eager to smush the gooey green dip around with the pestle.

Next up - Pesto.  I had a big container of fresh basil that I couldn't resist picking up last time I was at Whole Foods. I've been using it in our pasta for the last week, but there was still quite a bit left and this way we'll be able to pull out the panini press and have quick and tasty sandwiches all weekend. I substituted walnuts for pine nuts, since that's what I had on hand, but we've done that before with great results. Ryder's involvement came in operating the Vitamix - a first. 

And voila! 

Since we all know that no date is complete without awesome food, Ryder and I cracked open a rare box of Smarties to share. He doesn't get such treats very often and it was fun to watch him saver the chocolates. 

Our last project of the night was baby food. We washed, cut, and roasted a few squash and added 4 ripe pears. I added the mixture to my growing supply of freezer baby food. Lucky Baby Lynden!

And of course by the end of our night the kitchen was a wreck. But, I did feel like I made something of my day and most importantly, I got to spend a quality hour of one on one time with my sweet boy who is growing up way too fast. Even if 'Mama's Big Helper' makes projects take twice as long, I cherished every moment of our sweet kitchen date...and I'll wash the dishes in the morning. ;)

Parenting is teaching me to let go of some of the insignificant things that I value - like having a spotless kitchen and being fully in control of my circumstances. There are times when I struggle with frustration and impatience - I don't want to repeat myself, I don't want to clean up the 'oopsies' messes, and I just want obedient actions out of my child without reaching out to him on the level of his heart. In the midst of that, it's spontaneous nights like tonight that make up a childhood and so I tell myself that I won't regret the mess and extra work - even when I'm tired.

Speaking of which, it's time to feed the baby and get myself to bed so that we can do this all over again tomorrow. Have I mentioned how much I love being Mama?!