29 Day Organizing Challenge - Can I do it again?

Well, the start of a new year always brings a desire to get this place in tip-top shape! However, I've really been having a hard time getting into any kind of routine and the piles have grown into mountains!
Laura at I'm an Organizing Junkie is doing another organizing challenge this year & I'm going to participate again! This time I'll be concentrating on the junktoy room. I could have chosen the laundry room (yikes!) or the attic again (the garage sale dumping grounds) but I have some specific reasons for picking the toy room:

1. It's a mess. Duh.
2. It's so nice to send the kids up there to play the Wii when they have some energy to burn off. But they can hardly do that with the room in it's current condition.

and the most important reason...

3. My children see my struggle to stay organized and are adopting those bad habits. Peter Pan has an especially hard time remembering his homework. It's another mother guilt that I burden myself with, so maybe with some encouragement (Laura's challenge!) I can get started on the right path. I don't want my kids to be perfect, but they've got to at least learn how to function properly in life!

On to some pictures. Oh boy...

Being frugal

I've been doing the coupon thing for a while, that is, until I organized my stockpile & realized how much shampoo, body wash & toothpaste we actually have! LOL! So now I'll just use coupons when there's a super great deal on something we don't have as much of.

I've been aware of bent & dent stores but never went because I don't go in that direction. However! Folks here at the farm are eating like it's going out of style & I can't seem to keep up (our budget either). So I went. Awwwesooome! From just 2 visits I've found & bought:

10 boxes of taco shells-$.35ea (only a couple boxes had broken shells)
40 Caprisun pouches-$.10ea
3 10pk juice boxes-$1 ea
20 boxes Kraft mac & Cheese-$.35ea
11 boxes brand name cereal-$1.50ea.
lots of fuit roll-ups & granola bars & other odds & ends

Most boxes are a little smooshed, and I make sure to find ones that are not yet expired.

Coupon prices without the coupon work! Love it!

He loves me

Jesus loves me this I know
for the Bible tells me so.
Little ones to him belong,
they are weak but He is strong.

YES, Jesus loves me!
YES, Jesus loves me,
YES, Jesus loves me!
The Bible tells me so!

One of my favorite things....

is (are) cloth diapers! Yep, with Jif I took the plunge & tried them. With a little trial & error I've found the cloth diaper I love! The Kawaii Baby diaper can be found at theluvyourbaby.com in many colors & styles. They are easy to use, wash & dry (which can sometimes be more trial & error!) Cloth diapers are not as bad/hard to use as some believe. Sure, there is a tad more work but not having to constantly BUY diapers is wonderful! And Kawaii Baby diapers are VERY reasonably priced compared to other cloth diaper systems. You should really check them out!

If you'd like a chance to win a Kawaii Baby diaper, head to Life of This SAHM where she is GENEROUSLY hosting a giveaway for one! She loves these diapers too! Thanks Life of This SAHM for the chance to win!

52 days & counting! Seriously.

People...there are only 52 days until Christmas! Holy moly! Have you started shopping yet? Have you thought about Christmas cards? Our family just had our picture taken this past weekend so I'm all about getting Christmas cards taken care of soon.

This year, I'm going to try Shutterfly for Christmas cards. I've gotten many photo greeting cards from them in the past & have been really impressed. It's just so cool that you can customize a card just for that someone special!

I am totally going to enjoy browsing through Shutterfly's 700+ holiday cards! I love that sort of thing! I haven't made my final selection but a few favorites are "Most Wonderful Story" 5x7 folded card, "Merry & Bright", & "Puzzle Pieces Christmas" 5x7 folded card. Since photos (and sharing them with family & friends) are some of my favorite things, I'm excited to get this project rolling!

Shutterfly is offering 20% off all holiday cards right now so if you'd like to check them out, go HERE.

They also have some REALLY cute gift tags and return address labels. I love all the colors on these things!

Anywho, I'm so excited for this Christmas season...I've got quite a few gifts for the kidlets already. It's so much fun figuring out what each one likes and personalizing their gifts!

Happy gift-giving everyone!

decisions, decisions

Hey. Want an update?



-Jif is 6 months old, almost sitting by herself, & is growing like a weed.



A very large weed in fact.



She is leaps & bounds bigger than ever her big brothers were at this age. Yikes!





-Skippy is in preschool & loving it! Since we are holding him back a year, he is quite a bit older than most of the children there.

And he got his first combine ride this fall since Farmer planted corn & soybeans. He said,



"That was the funnest combine ride ever!"





-Peter Pan is a mighty 2nd grader & getting too big for his britches.



Just kidding!



Maybe.



He wants to wait for the bus by himself! No more mom! =(

Seriously, he is such an awesome kid! He is in LOVE with legos.



Oh. My. Word. Does he love them!

They are everywhere!





-Farmer is extra busy now that the leaves are starting to fall. Farming is slowing down now; he just got a load of beef feeders for next year's butcher and in a few weeks he'll be taking 12 hogs to the processor.

Unfortunately we did not go on vacation this year & is he ever missing his R & R! He is never able to fully relax unless we are MILES away from all his work. I hope he can hold out another year!



-At the beginning of July I was fortunate (insert sarcasm here) enough to experience the pain of plantar fasciitis in both feet. Oh the pain! I was pretty much out of commission for 2 months & I'm still not back to my old self.

The house is almost 100% finished. Remember the family room mess? And we had siding put on the house too.





So, I'm thinking hoping the Summer of Chaos is finally on the way out. And I'm left with some decisions to make.

I am SO craving calm, simplicity, organization...and I'm realizing how much work & discipline that is going to take- physically, mentally & spiritually.

Do I keep this little blog going or not? I really DON'T need to blog; we live 5 minutes away from most of our family. I'm not blogging to provide extra income. And there is always that little nagging in the back of mind to write a post.



But I do kind of like it. It could have great potential.



So.



Maybe I'll be back.



Or maybe I won't.



Who knows?



Because I sure don't!

*Sigh*

Hmm, what a coincidence that it is 2 months to the day that I last posted. Two months!

*sigh*

I really want to be a good blogger.

I really do.

But for some reason I have this gigantic impenetratable mental wall that I can't seem to scale. And it's not just affecting my blogging...

Oh no.

It's before me when I need to make supper.

It's right in front of me when I need to clean the toilet.

It's smacking me in the nose when I need to pull all those darn weeds in the garden.

I'm fighting....with myself.

And it's not because " I just had a baby!" I've heard that one WAY too many times. For Pete's sake, Jif sleeps through the night, like 7-9 hours through the night. It's not like I'm sleep deprived. And she's a pretty content baby, thank goodness.

I could go on complaining, giving reasons for this or that, but that won't do any of us any good. Maybe someday I'll figure it all out and magically change. =)

Until then, I'll keep taking one hard-fought step at a time.