I'm Losing It

It is only December. We just started getting snow. And I've already got cabin fever! That makes for a LONG Winter!

     In the early morning, sitting by the stove in my rocker, drinking coffee, I find my mind wandering to thoughts of Spring. I blame the seed catalogs!! LOL. I keep thinking about what new plants I want to try, things I want to do differently (like keep a garden journal, to start with!). And how good fresh turned sod smells. Then I think about peepers in the pond. I love peepers! And how nice it is to hang out laundry on the line, and how fresh it smells. And how awesome the song birds sound just before dawn! And watching the chickens scratching around in the dirt, looking for tasty treats. Oh, yes. I've got it BAD!
*Sigh*

How will I ever live through to Spring?! LOL.
     Have a good day y'all! God Bless!

A Secret...

Good morning everyone! I am excited to tell you I'm working on a little secret surprise to share with you! I can't spoil it though. I think many of you will like it, so stay tuned!

It is hard to believe that my youngest sister was wearing this snowsuit when Darlin' and I were dating! It fits Big Boy perfectly this year!

What a face! I guess he can't wait for the surprise either!

Let's see....what's been going on around here? Well, we got some hay on Saturday. Our Taurus is in the shop, again. We have decided that once the inspection runs out in April, we will retire the car. It's been a good little car. We've had it for over 3 years now. It's a 2003. We bought it from a private owner for $2,300 and it had 83,000 miles on it at the time. Up until recently, it has been very reliable. What I liked most about it is that we didn't have a car payment. I'm more of the "cash on the barrel" type, and I hate having loans. It still isn't a bad car, but the body is wearing out. That's the biggest pain about Maine Winters. I don't mind the snow nearly as bad as I mind the fact that we have to salt the roads. It is hard on vehicles. Car washes are a must! Even then, the salt eventually always wins in the end. We've never had a vehicle that the motor went before the body did. 

What else is going on...? Oh! We now have two calves. One heifer and one bull. If I could just remember to take the camera out to the barn with me I could share some pictures before they are all grown up! 

     I've done a little Christmas decorating. I still have some lights to put up. Big Boy is really excited for a Christmas tree! We will get one this weekend. He did some sliding with Daddy yesterday and loved every minute of it! 

     Little Boy is walking all over the place! And talking up a storm! Next Summer he will be tromping through the garden with me instead of watching from the stroller! 

Which reminds me. I think when I find some time (somewhere, LOL) I will make my seed order out. I've already been getting seed catalogs in the mail. I want to set out a new garden plan though. I'm going to move some things around , which, you are supposed to rotate anyway. For example, for the last two years, I've plated Jack-Be-Littles in the raised beds on a trellis. Next year I will not plant anything on a vine in the raised beds. They somewhat take over, and make it hard to get to anything else without damaging the vines. Carrots, on the other hand, did extremely well in the raised beds. This was the first year that I've had good luck with carrots. Planting them straight in the ground doesn't turn out so well for me. Oh, it probably would, if I mixed sand in the soil like you're supposed to. 😉 And maybe I'll do just that next year. I did find out, however, that I need to plant MANY more carrots than I did this season. I thought I had A LOT. Then I washed, peeled and blanched them. I ended up with only 3-1/2 pints. Not nearly enough for us. That's just a snack! I also am going to order all heirloom seeds, because I want to start saving my own seeds. It saves money, and I think it would be neat to plant the following year seeds that I've saved myself. It's sustainable. 

Anyway, life is calling. I will come back to "see" you tomorrow! 

Mama's Little Helpers

Learning how to fold washcloths. Big Boy was so proud to be "helping" with the laundry. After we were done folding, I put all his socks in one of the little baskets and he carried it to his room and put his socks away. He was so cute!






I hope you have an awesome Friday! Don't forget to slow down enough to take joy in the little things!

Organizing Acronym K.I.S.S.:

K.I.S.S. If you've done any reading or watched YouTube videos on organizing, then you've probably heard of K.I.S.S. It stands for Keep It Super Simple.  If you come up with an organizing system in your home, and you have to do multiple steps to put away belongings, it will not work. I'm speaking from experience here. Sometimes you have to rethink and revamp your organizing systems to fit your or your family members' personalities. For example; if your daughter is more of a ''chucker" than a ''hanger-upper" when it comes to putting laundry away, consider getting a cube organizer with cubbies for socks, underwear, leggings, undershirts, and maybe even pants and t-shirts. Then they only have to hang up dresses and sweatshirts. Or, you could get drawer dividers for their dresser so at least their drawers don't become ''laundry soup'' and they can still find what they need. This will allow for some order to things, while at the same time letting them have some freedom in their own space. Plus, you won't have to fight city hall everyday about putting everything neatly in drawers. 😉 We should NEVER let stuff come between us and our relationships with our family members. Sometimes kids just need to do what we ask, but if we have the chance to compromise a little and both still get what we want, why not? In this example, the daughter can quickly put her clothes away without reorganizing and straightening her drawers every day, and mom can relax because the clean clothes aren't all over the room and the dress clothes aren't in a wrinkled ball in the bottom of the closet. Win-Win.

     Yesterday morning, I went upstairs to get the boys for breakfast. I took one look at their room and went right back down for a couple of trash bags. One for actual trash, and the other for toy overflow. I had had enough of picking up the same badillion toys every. single. day. twice. a. day. (morning and after nap time). The thing is, they had accumulated so much stuff in there, that they weren't even playing with it. They had over a dozen board books up there that Little Boy would just clear off the shelf every day. Then they would walk all over them as they bickered over other things. Some of the books were in pretty rough shape. The boys had ripped the pages out. I had been picking up those loose board pages for a couple of weeks thinking I would fix them some day. WHY?! I finally tossed them. I left 4 (FOUR) of their favorite books on the shelf and took the surplus out. I will now rotate books for upstairs, not just toys. Why it took so long to do that, I don't know. I also took out a bunch of toys. When they have too much, they don't play with them very long at all. They dump every single cubbie on the floor whether they play with them or not. When we had finished, three of the six cubbies were empty. And that's okay. It only takes a minute to restore order to their room now, and they are happily playing with what they have left, instead of walking all over the toys and books. Now they can start picking up the toys while I'm making my bed and they won't be overwhelmed. I have also taken the flat sheets off of their beds. They don't need them in the Winter. If it were in the middle of July and they were hot but still wanted to cover up, then a flat sheet would be in order. Just one less thing we have to handle in the morning. Now I know, this may sound a little over board. A sheet is not going to be the difference between organization and mess, but little things like this together make a difference. In fact, if the boys were not early risers, I would not keep toys in there at all. Bedrooms are for sleeping and dressing. Not for detonating a nuclear bomb. They have a chest of toys to play with in the livingroom, as well as things like paint, playdough and crafts to do at the table. When kids don't have so much stuff, they play longer and happily with what they do have. I've witnessed this first hand. So don't feel guilty for paring down the toys and such. You are doing you children a favor, and yourself as well. You are teaching them to be happy with what they have, and to take care of those belongings.

     I've got my eye on this cabinet here . I have been looking online for cabinets that lock. Ones with locks already in them are quite expensive. I figure I can put a $3 lock on this myself, and it is 1/4 the price of other ones I've looked at. It has good reviews. What would I do with it? You may ask. I'm going to put toys with lots of pieces (box of blocks, puzzles, leggos, etc.) and craft supplies in it and lock it. Yes, I sound like an ogre. But, being aware of what is out and when will drastically cut down on mess. Plus, it gives me the chance to teach them to pick up what they are done with before getting out something new to play with. And the house doesn't get covered in paint and glue in the meantime! Not all of the toys will be locked up at once, of course. Just some of them and especially the biggest mess culprits. K.I.S.S. That is what it is all about. If it's not hard to clean up, it is more likely to get cleaned up and put away. This also goes with the sheer amount of things you have. The less you have, the easier and faster clean up is. And this doesn't just apply to kids. As mothers, we need to look in the mirror and ask if we need that much stuff. Are we asking our children to do something that we ourselves are not willing to do? I know I need to go through all my craft and scrapbooking stuff. I do not need all of it. How about the clothes? Kitchen gadgets? Personal care items? Makeup? I think you catch my drift. We all need to clear out some stuff and simplify things. Then,we need to have a place to keep what is left. Start in one area of your home. Maybe something small. A shelf, a closet. And work your way around until you've been through everything. Depending on the size of your house, and the amount of stuff you have, this could take a long time. Try not to get discouraged. You will have to go back to areas you've already been through and tidy them up, but it won't be as bad as it was before. So get started and good luck! I'm right there with you! 

Thanksgiving Tips; What I've Learned

Thanksgiving was fun! We all survived! LOL. It was great to have the family together, even though we missed KK, Jay, Keenan, my brother and his wife and daughters. I didn't get ANY pictures (sorry). We were right in the thick of it and I just plain forgot! So, here are some things that I learned from hosting my first Thanksgiving. Maybe I can save others from making the same mistakes and/or give you a couple ideas for your next holiday meal. Here we go:

1. Cook a little less food. I went over board (as always) and cooked way too much food! I seriously have enough cranberry sauce leftover that I could can and serve it for the next 5 Thanksgivings! At least no one could say they left hungry!

     2. Dishes. If I don't buy more plates between now and next year, I just may go with sturdy paper ones. I didn't have enough plates for everyone (which I knew ahead of time) so my mother brought some of hers over. I like the idea of using ''real'' plates, but I don't detest the idea of paper ones either. I think the main thing is that we are all together to share a meal and remember that we all have so much to be thankful for. I definitely need to get more serving dishes though! I didn't have enough serving dishes so we ended up putting food in large mixing bowls instead. Which did the job, but they took up way too much room on the table! I could really use a couple more serving utensils too. (In case you haven't noticed a trend, I really could use some kitchen equipment! We have what we need to get by on a day to day basis, but for special occasions or just a large group for that matter, we are lacking in the quantity area, lol) Also, if I had more small serving dishes, I would be able to set both tables with all the foods at the same time. We needed two tables for everyone, so we had to run food from one table to the other in order for everyone to get some of everything.

     3. Take home trays. Next year I will get some disposable take home trays so guests who would like to can take some goodies home with them. Plus, you don't have to worry about getting dishes back, or burden anyone with having to wash and return them.

     4. More prep work. I did make some things ahead, but there was lots of room for improvement in that area. If I had been more intentional at being organized, I could have done more ahead of time. I wish I had made the pies earlier and froze them. And I could have made the cranberry sauce earlier too. More cleaning in the days before wouldn't have hurt anything either. I used to get mad at myself because I would get stressed out over things not being done, and stay up way too late to get more accomplished. Now I'm mad at myself because I've gotten quite a bit better at letting things go, LOL. Somewhere in the middle would be nice ;-)

Well that is what I can think of that pops into my head at the moment for things that I could do differently. Does anyone else have some tips they would like to share? I'd love to hear them! I hope you all have a wonderful day! We have a heavy frost this morning. It is beautiful in the sunrise! 

Being Thankful

As Christians, we have a lot to be thankful for each and every day of the year. Right now I'm enjoying a quiet morning blogging and drinking my favorite hot beverage (coffee!!) after spending some time with our Lord. I am very thankful that the boys are still asleep after quite a stretch of being awake at 4:00 A.M.!! Although, I did have to put Little Boy back to bed at 12:30 this morning. It seems Big Boy thought it was time to get up, and had turned the bedroom light on before climbing back into his bed. I could hear Little Boy talking up a storm and when I opened my eyes I saw that they had their light on. Thinking I had over slept, I looked at the clock. "Oh no you don't." I said out loud to myself. When I got to their room, Big Boy was back in his bed, almost asleep. Little Boy, on the other hand, was sitting in the midst of a massive pile of books on the floor, "reading" to himself! I tucked him back in and turned off the light. A few minutes after I went back to bed I could hear the sound of board books being piled up. Back to the boys room. Little Boy was back out of bed, frantically throwing all the books he could find into his bed. In the dark. I couldn't help but laugh! "No, no, Liam. It's night, night time." I tucked him in again and that was the last I've heard so far...

So, on with being thankful. This is the first year of having Thanksgiving at our house. I just haven't been able to ''pull out all the stops" as far as decor goes. And at this point, Christmas is around the corner so not much sense in going all out this late in the game. This makes two years since I've deliberately taken the time to formally decorate for Fall. I had planned to the week after Labor Day but those weeks were crazy go-go! Of course the last time I decorated for Fall, I had less people making messes to clean up after, less laundry to do, less food to cook and so on. But, I wouldn't change things now for the world.💙 I am glad to have the dirty laundry, mess and dishes that I do, because it means I have little people and a husband to love.
     Anyway, here is some of what I did:

My brother gave me a beautiful pumpkin. I painted it white and wrote "We are thankful for:" on it. The idea is to have everyone take a Sharpie on Thanksgiving and write something that they are thankful for on the pumpkin. I think I saw this idea on Pinterest.

 This is on our front door. I made a few more in the house.One above the range in the shape of a plug/cord that says "Thank you for electricity" and one like a big drop of water by the sink "Thank you for fresh, clean water." and so on. This idea came from my Aunt Jane.

 This is our centerpiece. Our Thanksgiving bouquet. No joke. I'd heard a story on Christian radio last Fall about people buying rose stems without the roses for Thanksgiving. They would label each of the thorny stems with a hard experience in life which they thank God for. It is a visual reminder to be thankful not just for the roses, but also the thorns. God uses hard circumstances in our lives to sanctify us, grow our faith and to draw us closer to Him. "The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold, and the LORD tests hearts." Proverbs 17:3  These aren't rose stems, they are blackberry canes. But, I think the same idea applies. Being thankful for the thorns, not just the berries, LOL. Darlin' and I started this new tradition last year, and it is one we want to continue through the years. We take turns labeling each cane, until they each have an experience labeled on them. We've written things like health issues, job loss, financial difficulty, miscarriage, things of that nature.  We haven't labeled this one yet but we will tonight.

Those are just some ideas of what we are doing here at Felicity Farm. I would love to hear your ideas and traditions. Leave me a comment about them if you have the time. I hope to ''see'' you soon. I'm not sure what the next few days are going to hold, but I'm sure they will be busy, busy. I hope to get back to blogging soon though.😊 Happy Thanksgiving everyone. Don't forget to be thankful every day!

Little Big Boy

Little Boy got a new bed! Thank you to Aunt "Lise" and Uncle Pat-Pat!


Putting it together in the middle of our "weekend after math" kitchen!

 The boys just couldn't wait to grab some screwdrivers and "help" Daddy!

 Little Boy, building his own bed!

 All finished! Complete with Cars bedding from Nana.

 Big Brother had to climb up and check it out!

 Settling into his new bed, ready for a story!

 Awwah. Two toddlers, in big boy beds. What am I going to do now that my babies are growing up!? I didn't even cry. Much.

 "Mamma, if you would get that camera out of my face, I could go to sleep now!" LOL. 4:30 that morning I heard him fall out of bed, and went to tuck him back in. Other than that he has been doing great! He is so happy to be able to get out of bed in the morning and play with toys with "Bubba" now. He used to cry when he got up, until I would go in and get him out of the crib so he could play. They both have been sleeping in 'till 6/6:30 lately. Total awesomeness!

Hope you have a good day. And to those who got snow like us, I hope you enjoy it! (Come on, it's been a mild Autumn, don't complain!)

Little Boy Is Walking On His Own!!!

Auntie "K-K" took a video of Liam walking to Uncle Jay, all by himself! We are so proud of him!

Datman!!!

"Spider Dude'

 Uncle Sai and Big Boy making paper planes

Datman!

Chicken Soup For The Toddler's Cold

The two little guys were sick with a cold yesterday. All around grouchy, clingy and whiny. I made them chicken soup. But they weren't up for eating much at all. They had some bananas, a little egg and bacon and that is pretty much it. Plus I gave them all the cut juice and milk they wanted. When they weren't whining, they were sleeping. Big Boy rested on the couch for a while watching his favorite show, Chuggington. Little Boy napped upstairs for a short while. Then they both fell asleep mid afternoon. Early evening they awoke for a little snack (thin slices of Darlin's apple spice birthday cake) and went back to bed at 7.  I hope they are up for eating more today, and that they feel better. Poor babies. Why do the little guys get colds much worse than adults, especially when there seems to be no cold medications for little guys? Sigh. Hopefully we all get over this soon. I've had a cold for going on four weeks now.

Here is the start of the chicken soup. This is my Germa's chicken soup pot. She made many a good chicken soup in this pot. I remember going to the grocery store with her when we would visit her or she and Poppop would come to Maine. She would be dressed up in a shawl, knitted hat with a pompom on top, clip on earrings and bright pink lipstick. She would go whistling up and down every aisle, the aroma of Emeraude wafting behind her. When we would get to the meat department she would say "We need an old, fat hen for our soup, Becky." And we would paw through the chickens, looking for an "old, fat hen." I didn't have the heart to tell her that most of the chickens in the grocery stores now are 8 week old cross rock meat birds. She told me that what can make or break your soup is the fat. "Fat is flavor, and a preservative." She'd say. Thus, the reason for an "old, fat hen". And I'd have to agree. 

 This chicken wasn't very fat, so I added a few tablespoons of leftover bacon grease from that morning's breakfast...mmm!

 First I put in my chicken, two small, chopped onions, a few cloves of minced garlic, and some thinly sliced celery with two quarts of water. I added some sea salt and black pepper and two small bay leaves and let it all simmer for a couple hours. Next I took the chicken out, and once cool enough to handle I took the meat off the legs, wings and back and diced it, putting it back into the soup. Then I added some diced carrots from our garden that I'd blanched and froze earlier, and some sliced mushrooms, rosemary and thyme, and two diced potatoes. That simmered for another hour or so. Mmm!

Big Boy, snuggled up on the couch watching Chuggington.

Yesterday was pretty much all about sniffles and crankies. Hopefully today things go a little better. 

Hope you have a great day today!!

~My Cozy Nook~

This is my cozy little nook. I like to spend time here in the early mornings. I like to start my day with prayer, Scripture and a few cups of piping hot coffee. Then usually I check email, work on a blog post and do whatever research online that I'm interested in at the time. The last couple of days has been great, because the boys have slept until at least 6:00! Totally awesome!
     I have found over the years that praying ''in my head" with my eyes closed is not for me in the early mornings. If I want to have a good conversation with the Lord, I need to pray out loud. Otherwise, my mind wanders. Every time. Unless I pray out loud, the whole time I'm trying to pray is a battle just to keep my thoughts from wandering. Not a very peaceful/pleasant experience. Anyone else ever had this problem??? I've recently started reading Scripture out loud to myself too. Hearing myself read it somehow makes it easier to remember and follow along with what's going on. I have found that sometimes, I can read a whole passage of Scripture silently to myself, AND be thinking of other things!!! Of course, what I read doesn't stick, because I'm not paying full attention. It amazes me that it is even possible to do that! (Ok, I really sound like a freak now, I know.) Just thought I'd throw that out there, in case anyone else has that problem too and maybe this would help.

 How many of you noticed the humming bird feeder still in the window?!

I draped a soft, fluffy blanket over my rocking chair. It makes it so cozy to sit in!

I keep my Bible, current reading books, a hymnal, the camera and cord and my laptop on this stand. That way, everything I use in the morning, with the exception of the coffee pot, is all right within reach. I just added the white lights a couple of days ago. I think they soften the look a little. It's not very fancy, but I love it!


Yesterday was such a beautiful day! Unusually warm for November in Maine, but man, was it awesome! I hung out some laundry yesterday (that I have to get today, before it rains). It felt like Spring out there! I also had a window open to let some of that crisp, clean air in to freshen up the house.  I hope you have a great day!!!

I Speak English

I stood in front of my printer/copier, trying to figure out how to make it print my Thanksgiving menu on both sides of one piece of paper. Looking through the ''print'' options on my computer, I searched and searched for a ''print two sided" or "double sided" option like on previous computers I'd used. I didn't find one. No such option was listed. Knowing that there must be a way to do this, I just started randomly selecting options and trying them to see if it was what I was looking for. One after another and I still had no success. Finally, I came to an option "manual duplex". Duplex? Doesn't that mean ''copy'', or "two"? When I hear the word ''duplex" I think of a house, or carbon check copies. But lo and behold, that was it. So a ''manual duplex" is printing on two sides of the paper. Got it. Wow. I probably shouldn't be admitting to this stuff. Oh, well. Hope someone got a kick out of my ''blonde'' story of the day!

Darlin's birthday was Saturday. I grabbed a quick pic of him in his new "Maine Guide" shirt. His old shirt was so worn, I would've had to start patching the patches, and it was so thin and faded. Therefore, the boys and I got him a new one. 

 The first bright star peeking out last night.

 A little blurry, but beautiful colors.

 It really shined just after the sun went down.

I hope you have a B-E-A-U-TIFUL day!!!

The Top Two "Catching Up" Essentials:

The number one thing I would recommend for catching up on housework, and making sense of your chaos as a homemaker, is a meal plan, menu and pre-typed grocery list. I talked more about this in my last post. It truly makes all the difference. The second top recommendation, is to get one of these!...

 Yup. Hire a babysitter/mother's helper. (Or, just draft a sister like I did!) Pooh stayed for two days/one night and we got so much done! I was able to get all of the laundry and dishes caught up. I got some much needed cleaning done, too. I almost couldn't believe what we were able to accomplish just in one day. Just having an extra pair of eyes in the house to make sure the boys are safe made things so much easier! I could not have done all that I did without her help! Things can take for-ev-er by myself, as I can only do one thing at a time. When they boys are in the bathtub, I have to stay right there. I cannot go put laundry away or clean the kitchen. She really made a big difference! Thank you Pooh!!

*Disclaimer: Babysitters will vary. May or may not include cowboy hat. Sorry for any inconvenience.

Big Boy in my rocking chair by the stove last night after his bath. All snugly! 

Today is Darlin's birthday. Off to cook a big breakfast and enjoy the day!

"Refresh" Update

First up, the Home Management Binder. This is all I have put together so far, literally the front cover, LOL. When I first heard about these 10 years ago, it was recommended that you use a 3" binder. I tried that for a while, but honestly, it was just over kill. Some people keep all their phone numbers, addresses, medical info, gifts lists, etc. in this binder. I don't. I keep my addresses in an index card box next to my envelopes and stationary. I keep my phone numbers on a list taped to the wall above the phone. I have a file for medical stuff. I keep gift lists in my Christmas binder. So I don't need a 3' binder. It's just too big for what I need. This is a heavy duty 1.5 inch binder. I stuck a picture of my fcshsia plant that Darlin gave me in the front pocket. 

 Copies of the following papers will go in the binder...
I created a one-week menu where I planned out breakfast, lunch and supper based on what we typically would be doing that day. (Easy meals on busy days when we are out, etc) I plan on making at least one or two more as things start to settle into a rhythm, but for now for the sake of sanity I am just starting with one. There are variations to this menu too. For example, the day we have soup, it could be any one of several kinds of soup. Cream based, chowder, chicken, beef, ham, etc. And mac and cheese could be different kinds of cheese sauce and pasta. Peanut butter sandwiches could include honey, Nutella, bananas, jam, etc. Different toppings and crusts on homemade pizza night. We son't mind eating similar things every week. And as I said, when things level out, I will add more menus. This is just to make life easier while I'm trying to get new systems in place. I have this tacked to the inside of my cupboard door for easy reference, and copies will be kept in my binder.

 To go with the menu, I went ahead and made a basic grocery list that includes staples and all of the ingredients for all the meals, sides and snacks on the menu. Before I go grocery shopping, I take inventory of the fridge, cupboards and freezers, then highlight what I need to buy. So easy. I typed it out in category order, and according to the grocery store layout, so I can start at one end of the store and make my way to the other end without back tracking.

 The post-it note is for items I want to add to my list. I will add them, then put copies into my binder.
Having a meal plan and the items to execute it seems to be half the battle. If you are currently overwhelmed, I would suggest starting with this. Then you don't have to think up something to make for every meal of every day, and not have the ingredients you need all the while trying to care for little ones and declutter the house, catch up on laundry, cleaning, etc. Trust me, this is a game changer.

Another thing I have implemented right away is a 3:30 pick up. I set the alarm on my phone to go off every day at 3:30 to remind me to stop my current project and have the kids help pick up the house. This is something my mother has been doing for years, as long as I can remember. I don't know why it's taking me so long to do it too, because it really helps. Usually by mid-afternoon, there is an explosion of toys throughout the house. (another system I'm currently tweaking). I used to leave the picking up for after supper. But by then, the mess so overwhelming and it's getting late. Then once the kids go to bed, I'm tired too, and I don't want to clean up the whole house. This way, it isn't so bad at nigh, and the boys are learning they need to clean up after themselves. I highly recommend this too.

 That is all the update for today. We have been gone every day for the last 3 days, so things haven't been going as well as I want, but I can still relax inside because I know there is food in the house, a plan to tell me what cook and when, and there is at least a goal to shoot for now.

Another glorious sunrise this morning. Pictures don't do it justice. It is really amazing in real life!

I hope you have a blessed day! I hope this is helpful. 'Till next time!

My Favorite Part Of The Day

Early morning has always been my favorite part of the day. It's quiet and peaceful. Lately I have enjoyed sitting in my rocking chair by the stove with a hot cup of coffee, watching as the sky steadily grows lighter. Although, the boys have been early risers too, and it doesn't seem fair! LOL. Especially since time change, they have been up really early. For about the last week or so, they've been up at about 5 A.M. After turning the clocks back, they've been up 4:00/4:30ish. I like having quiet time in the morning to be alone, to read, pray and have some coffee before the hustle and bustle of the day starts. I am also most productive in the mornings. After the boys go to bed at night (7:00), I don't have much energy or ambition to do a whole lot. In fact, I'm usually in bed myself around 8:00/8:30. I don't mind them being up so early, if they just play in their room and get along. It's when they realize that I'm downstairs that things get pretty loud. "Mama! Jackson get out?" Is the usual call across the house first thing. Sigh. Hopefully soon they will go back to sleeping until at least 6:00! Plus, as they days grow colder, I will be sneaking off to the barn early to do chores before they get up, because it will be too cold to have them out so early. Usually in the Winter, I bundle them up and take them out for a walk and fresh air before nap time, when the sun is the highest.

     Currently I am working on a new home management binder. And new routines that fit our current daily life. As I mentioned in an earlier post, things have changed in the last year (as they should), and so our old routines do not fit anymore. Routines are not to "chain" you to the house, so that you cannot do anything spontaneous, but are such that when the spontaneous does happen, it does not send everything into a tail spin, because things have already been running smoothly. I'm sure probably some of you think I'm a nut, to care about routines and rhythms and such. Maybe so. But when household and barn chores are organized in such a way that I know what is next and when things will most likely get done, it frees my mind from constantly thinking about all the "to dos". Laundry doesn't pile up. The couch gets vacuumed under more than once in a coon's age. I know what to make for supper and use up leftovers before they go bad. I have more time to do fun stuff with the kids. Time is a lot like money. If you don't pay attention, and tell it where to go (budgeting) it will flee from you and you won't know where it all went, and will have nothing to show for it.

     I want to be intentional with my time so that the things that are priority get done on a regular basis (time with the LORD, time with the kids/family, healthy, home cooked meals, etc.) 

That is what I'm currently working on. I will update soon. I have only been able to find small pockets of time to work on it amongst the chaos.

I hope you have a blessed day! 

You Know You're A Mother Of Toddlers When...

You buy a box fan for the sole purpose of cover noise so you can sneak downstairs at 5 in the morning for coffee without getting caught!

Ya-Ya and Big Boy playing in the first snow of the year...

 Making a little snowman

Window gazing

 Hanging out with Mama. I was reading and writing at the table, he got one of his favorite books and sat next to me. *cute*

 Big Boy's prized Datsun

 A new book. I plan on doing a mini "preschool haul" post soon....

 Homemade tortilla chips and sweet salsa

 Rice box fun

 Is this what you call a one-cup measure?? LOL Big Boy was walking around the house with this, thought it was cute so I snapped a picture.