Cleaning up my life starts with cleaning up my house... and keeping it that way :)

Not to say that I don't clean my house because it seems as though I never stop. But I tend to be a but flighty and clean a little here and a little there and then the mess accumulates in the first place before the second place is clean so I go back to do it and then the dog needs to go out and dinner needs to be made and a diaper needs to be changed and someone needs a bath and a plant got tipped over and and and and!!! So, My plan is this... I'm gonna complete at least ONE room a day! Today it happens to be the Kitchen because I can`t get on with my day if the kitchen is a mess. It`s a doozy right now so I have my work cut out for me! I`m posting pictures but keep in mind when looking at them that Christmas is just ending and lots of stuff has yet to find homes and... well, take a look for yourself. It`s rather humiliating!! I took pictures as I went so you can sort of see my progress. I think I did a pretty good job :) I just have that one counter to clear off (the first pic) and I`m on to the dining room :)

taking my meds

I completely forgot to go get my prescription refilled so I went a few days without taking my "happy pills" (as we call them). I was not very pleasant to be around, to say the least! I started taking them about 3 1/2 to 4 years ago and they totally help me with my crazy moods and anxiety. They make me feel normal. Before I started taking them, I was hateful to everyone! I was bitter for no reason, I yelled at the kids all the time, I would break down and cry for no reason, I felt like I was always in a rush or I'd get that feeling like when your little and you KNOW you are in trouble. I was mean to people for no reason, I said mean things to and about people and had very little respect for anyone including myself. Life was a major inconvenience!! I didn`t realize what I was experiencing was depression and anxiety and just giving birth to my 4th baby made it much worse with the postpartum kicking in. Looking back now, I can see where things went wrong and know what I was feeling was not normal. I don`t know what I`d do today without the meds. I`m sometimes afraid I am addicted to them but I`m okay with that, If I have to take them for the rest of my life so I never have to feel that way again, I`ll do it!

I wish I had a money tree

 I don't have a money tree so I need to stretch that dollar as far as I can. One way we save money is by buying in bulk whenever we can. It creates less packaging so is better for the environment and as a result, is cheaper which is better for my bank account! In my household, we use a LOT of ketchup. So I buy it in the large cans and refill plastic ketchup squeeze bottles. One can of ketchup will fill 2.5 bottles.

I've tried using a funnel but it is messy and takes super long so I just cut open the top like a juice container,

and pour it into the bottles.

Once the can stops pouring the ketchup out in a steady stream, I cut off the top and scrape out the remainder.

Then I break out the funnel and put the remainder of the ketchup into the bottle.

It takes no time at all and is so much cheaper as a bottle of ketchup costs about $5 whereas a can costs about $6 and you get 2.5 times the amount! A great money saver!!

Still here

School is back in and life has gotten much easier for the better part of the day. The kids are in a routine and I am in a routine and I`m loving it. I`ve never really tried to implement a routine before. I just realize the sun has gone down and tell the kids it`s time for bed. That``s when they get all crazy and then they need something to eat and drink and it`s at that exact moment that they remember they needed to do something that is going to take them an hour and it has to be done for first thing in the morning. That doesn`t happen with a routine. They now know that bed time is 8:30pm and if something has to get done, it had better get done before that! I give them a 30 minute warning, a 20 minute warning and then a 5 minute warning. If there is anything left to be done after that, too bad!! Now, not only are the kids on a routine, I have put myself on a sort of routine as well. I make the kids lunches for the next day after they go to bed. I write their names on their sandwich bags because Cailyn doesn`t like mayo and Jorja doesn`t like mustard. I got the sandwiches mixed up one day and I swear it was the end of the world! I make sure they have 2 snacks and a juice bag.

Challenges of mommyhood.

I should have known when I got out of bed this morning that it was going to be a doozy! Jorja didn't want to get up saying that the kids in her class arn't nice to her. It took me almost a half hour to coax her out. Now, If you know Jorja, you know that she is painfully sensitive and takes everything to heart. So the kids not being nice to her probably means that they havn't had the chance to be BFF's with her yet. She is missing her favorite friend from her class last year and I think that being the second week of school, it's sinking in that she has to start all over with the friend making routine. So to help her out, I am going to make the class some brownies and take them in. As long as it's okay with the teacher! Not that Jorja needs help making friends. She has this ability to befriend anyone and everyone she meets within 2 minutes of meeting them. She will play for hours with someone and not even know their name. I think that in this situation, she just needs a bit of help breaking the ice, and what better to do that than some yummy goodies? :)

My weight loss journey.

Monday Aug 29th... "before"

So, I need to lose A LOT of weight after being pregnant twice in a such a close period of time. Malcolm was only 6 months old when I got pregnant with Elliott and I now have 59lbs to lose. I am currently at 209lbs as of Monday Aug 29th and my goal for the week is to lose 3lbs. I've been eating healthy and even went to the gym on Tuesday morning which felt fantastic. I'm cleaning up a lot of things in my life lately. My house is going from borderline hoarder to neat and tidy... slowly but surely. With the kids making a mess everywhere they step, cleaning becomes very overwhelming sometimes.

Back to my weight loss story, I figure that if I lose 3lbs a week for the next 20 weeks, I will finally be back to my ideal weight. Which puts me... right on Elliotts birthday. Feb 15th! I was going to give myself  2 extra weeks to make up for holiday goodies and cheat days but how perfect would it be to have reached my goal only a year after giving birth!!?? So it's set then! I will weigh myself every Monday morning and check in here as often as possible with updates and progress pics.

My weight loss journey.

I went to my weigh in today and to my dismay, I've gained 1.5lbs ugh!! So this week I'm going to kick it in to high gear and attempt to lose 3lbs!! I need to get to the gym! This crappy weather is killing me. I've been able to get out on all of the really nice days but there have been so few of those that it really hasn't done anything for me. Arthur bought me a few work out Wii games so I'll have to start using them once we get the kiddos off to bed.