I really like having a clean house to live in, but lately my cleaning has taken the back seat to everything else. This has left me one step behind, when I would rather be one step ahead. That is why I have made it one of my goals this month to get back into my cleaning routine.

My two biggest assistants in making my cleaning schedule are Flylady and iCal.

Flylady

I have used the flylady’s routine off and on for the past few years. I really like how she splits the different parts of the house up, so you are getting your daily cleaning done but also deep cleaning each week. The email  reminders and tips got a little overbearing for me, so I decided to just use her tips to make my own schedule.

iCal

I have an Apple computer, which I love, and iCal is the standard calendar that it comes with. I think it is very similar to other calendars like Outlook and Google. It holds the key to anything that I schedule.

(Click on the image to see the details of my cleaning schedule. I do not necessarily do the jobs at a certain time.)

Here are the some steps I have taken to make my own cleaning schedule in iCal:

1. Make a new calendar. Having individual calendars for different parts of your life can be really helpful. Right now I have thirteen separate calendars on my iCal! I like that I can pick different colors for my schedules and have whatever calendar schedule open that I need to look at. Make your new calendar, insert a name, and pick a color.
2. Daily jobs. Next I put in the daily jobs I need to get done: dishes, sweeping, laundry, and wiping down the bathrooms. Then I have it repeat daily.
3. Weekly jobs. I then put in my jobs that I do once a week: vacuuming, dusting, mopping, cleaning the showers, and toilets. Then I have that repeat weekly on whatever day I assign it to.
4. Cleaning zones. After that, I put in the cleaning zones (what room I’m focusing on) and what I want to get done each day that week. Then have it repeat every four weeks. For example this week I’m focusing on the bedrooms. One of the days I will be dusting, another vacuuming, washing windows, etc.
5. Plan Ahead. As you are planning the week, look ahead to see what’s going on. If you are going to be out of the house one day, you may want to adjust your cleaning schedule accordingly. Then you won’t get to that day and realize you don’t have time to get it all done. If you don’t get something done, just move it to the next day and adjust accordingly. That’s what I like about the using a digital calendar, I can just drag and drop.
6. Enlist help. Make a list of chores you can ask your kids to help with. I sometimes get overwhelmed and then realize I haven’t been asking for their help or teaching them to care for the home. Make sure you start this young. They won’t be much help at three years old, but they’re learning good work ethic. It also might keep them out of trouble for a few minutes.

Having this schedule has helped me a lot. Do you have a cleaning schedule? What helps you stay on task?

1. Keep with my cleaning schedule: This is still going really well. This week I deep cleaned the bathrooms including organizing the cupboards. It is nice to have some little helpers to keep up with the chores. I do need to work on decluttering other areas of my house. This next week I will work on spending 15 minutes a day on specific cluttered areas. I also hope to share my schedule with you next week.
2. Fixing my girl’s hair: This is going pretty well too. I tried a new style on Lydia’s hair on Sunday and I am obviously not a professional hair stylist. The ponytails, later this week, looked great! I still need to work on experimenting with new styles.
3. Losing 5 pounds: This week I started out with a bad attitude, because, really, this is going to be a long journey to lose all the weight that I want to this year. It’s going to be hard and it’s not always going to be fun. I need to remember to take one week at a time, then the goal is more manageable. I did my exercise 5 days this week with Jillian and drank a lot of water. The hard part continues to be eating right. The second half of this week I started tracking my calories and really watching my portions. I did lose some weight this week, albeit a small amount. I will continue to wait to tell you what I lose until the end of the month.

How are you doing on your goals?

In my life this week…

This week we had a fun little Valentine’s party of our own. My husband worked a 12 hour day, so it was just me and my 3 little sweeties. He did think ahead and got me a card and roses the day before. I am blessed.

I gained some new aches and pains this week in my back and knee. I don’t know if it’s my workouts with Jillian, or what. I’m just hoping it goes away in the next couple days. Maybe I’m just getting old…

In our homeschool this week…

This week we started learning about the European colonization of America. I am really excited to finally be learning about where we live, although Ancient History is fun too. The kids have had fun playing with historical themed paper dolls this week too.

Helpful homeschooling tip to share…

Going through the drill of flashcards can get waring. This week I let Joel quiz me and he loved it. He had to make sure I had the right answer by figuring it out in his head, so he was still learning.

I’m reading…

I just started reading A Praying Life: Connecting with God in a Distracting World by Paul Miller. It came highly recommended by my church and I am learning some great things about prayer. I’m looking forward to see how God uses this book to enhance my prayers.

If you want to see what the rest of the family is reading check out the Books Worth Reading tab above.

I’m cooking…

I’ve been trying to watch what I eat more this week, so this Broiled Tilapia Parmesan was great. It is high in protein and very tasty, just watch your portions.

A link to share…

Abby is supposed to start writing a play this week and this was a lesson plan from Scholastic to help us through the process. This link was given to me from our Tapestry of Grace Curriculum. I think it is going to be a great help.

Have a great weekend!

The best part was when one of the kids said, “This is the best Valentine’s Day ever!”

Photo by Ihar

As a christian I know that I deserve death, but God has paid that price for me and given me the gift of life through his Son’s death on the cross.

As a parent I try and teach this truth to my children, I never know if I’m getting through. Sometimes I think that it’s so hard to fight the what the world is saying, “You deserve better, You deserve the best…”

Yesterday we were running errands and I had the radio on in the car. There were commercials on, so I wasn’t really tuned in to what they were saying. That was until my daughter Abigail said, “I’m not going there!” in comment to one of the commercials.

I thought about what I had heard in the background. It was some commercial about jewelry, and the guy in the ad said, “We’ll treat you like you deserve!”

She’s getting it! We don’t want to be treated like we deserve, Jesus got what we deserve and it wasn’t pretty.

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Romans 8:1

The thing I love about teaching my children truth in these moments is that all of sudden they are preaching right back at me. If I continue guiding them in His truth, I am guiding myself while I do it. I am teaching them and hopefully, like this time, they will teach me or hold me accountable when they see sin.

Thank you Jesus that I will not be treated like I deserve! Thank you that my daughter is getting the message and knows what we deserve, and that it is not drowned out by the world’s shouting.

God is so good!

It’s 11 days into February, so let’s see how I’m doing on my goals for this month.

1. Keep up with my cleaning schedule. This is going really good. I got the living room deep cleaned last week and the kitchen cleaned this week. I’m keeping up with my daily jobs, except for yesterday when I was laid up with back pain. It feels good to be in a cleaner home.
2. Fixing my girl’s hair. I did my girl’s hair 4 times. Here’s what I did: braids, french braids, fishtail braids, and ponytails. I really like doing their hair and they seem to like getting it done so far too.
3. Lose 5 pounds. I have started exercising almost every day with Jillian Michaels – 30 Day Shred. I have been drinking a lot of water and trying to eat a little better. I have lost some weight, but I’ve decided to keep it to myself and post the final weight loss at the end of the month. This goal is very hard. There are days I dread getting out of bed to exercise and days I don’t want to say no to chocolate. So far, so good.

In my life this week…

This week has been a little crazy because all three of the kids were sick with some sort of stomach bug. So I was busy caring for them and trying to keep up with laundry. Jonathan and I were blessed not to get it.

In our homeschool this week…

Despite the sickness, we were able to get some schooling done. This week we learned about Shakespeare and Elizabeth I. One of the books that I’ve been reading to the kids is The Children’s Shakespeare by Edith Nesbit. It has been an enjoyable book. We also watched a movie about redwood trees that was quite interesting to go with our Botany. The kids and I have decided our next big vacation should be to the Redwood Forest.

I’m reading…

I borrowed The Hunger Games from someone at church and finished it in three days. It was quite an intense book and I had a hard time putting it down. I’m looking forward to reading the second book but I have a couple other books in line to read first.

In the kitchen…

I finally got my blender part that I got for myself as a Christmas present and was able to use my frozen strawberries and make a yummy smoothie.

A photo to share…

The kids had fun recreating the Super Bowl with their legos.

Have a great weekend!

Image: Carlos Porto / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

One of the ways that our family has been able to save some money on monthly expenses is by looking over our utility bills. One of those utilities is our phone. Here are some ways we have found that we can save on our phone bills each month.

1. Ditch the landline. We have been without a landline for around 5 years. We really don’t have a need for it since we both have cell phones. If our babysitter doesn’t have one we just leave one of ours with her.
2. Shop around. Check out the different phone companies. See what they offer and what you need. Look for the best price for the minutes. Don’t be afraid to ask for a lower rate, especially when a competitor is offering it.
3. Get a cheap phone. Usually when you sign up for a plan there’s a free phone. Take it. I know it’s fun to have all the bells and whistles of a smart phone but think of what else you could do with that $30-200.
4. Drop the data plan. It’s really nice having a data plan but it does get expensive. You can usually find wi-fi nearby if you really need to get online for something. We dropped ours and have been saving about $50 a month.
5. Call on off-peak hours. Most plans have hours where you can call on nights and weekends that won’t count toward your minutes. Use these times to make your calls. Make a reminder in your calendar if you need to.
6. Keep a tab on your account. Check on your account every once in a while to make sure your not close to going over on any minutes or texts. The overage charges can be killers and you can usually avoid those by knowing where you’re at.
7. Call over the internet. This day in age we live in has made this so easy. Most people are already paying for internet access, so use it and make your call for free. This is especially great for saving on international calls. There are all kinds of ways to do this: Facebook, Skype, and Facetime just to name a few.

What other ways have you saved on your phone bills?

When I first saw the book, A Meal with Jesus, listed on Tim Challies top book list I knew I wanted to read it this year.

The full title of the book is A Meal with Jesus: Discovering Grace, Community, and Mission around the Table, written by Tim Chester. The title pretty much sums it up, but I’ll divulge some things that I learned from reading it.

This book is about food, Jesus, us, and others. Food is something everyone of us needs, so it is a great way for us to connect with anyone. We can come together with our brothers and sisters in Christ and commune with each other and our heavenly Father. We can invite those who aren’t of our faith and live out God’s love by nourishing their bodies and souls, fulfilling the great commission.

I loved this book. I really want to buy it, so I can read it again and highlight all the great content. I also would love to have it to lend it out, because I think every christian should read it.  This book was especially good for me as a housewife. I know that my title is not looked high upon in this world, yet God can use what I do to further His kingdom. Since I stay at home and spend a lot of time in my kitchen, what a great opportunity to use my gifts to feed the body as He feeds the soul. I feel like we do an okay job at sharing meals with our christian family, but the challenge is bringing in non-believers into our sheltered life. I’m anxious to see where God takes my family and I as we discuss and live out this calling.

In this day in age we spend more and more time corresponding on the computer. It would do well for us Christians to be different and invite our friends and neighbors over for a face to face meal, in our own homes. I encourage you to read this book and apply it to your life.

Photo by Jonathan Fitch

I have been married for 13.5 years. I remember when that seemed like a long time, but now that it’s here, I realize how quickly time goes.

I remember back when my husband and I were dating. We were young and feeling “so in love”, wanting to be with each other every single moment. Now, years later, I feel so much more in love, than I ever could have imagined. I never knew that our love could ever grow this way. It’s like when a couple is about to have a baby, you can tell them life is never going to be the same, but they won’t really get it until they experience it themselves.

I think about our wedding day. What a big occasion and gargantuan promises! I did not understand the magnitude of what I was promising, not that I would change it. I thought I was so in love, and I promised to honor and cherish, in sickness and health, poor or wealth, ’til death do us part. When I said those bigger than life, sacred vows was I thinking, “Yes, even if you are unfaithful to me I will cherish you and honor you”? No. I was stuck in this facade that this man I loved was perfect. He may have some little imperfections like squeezing the toothpaste in the wrong spot, but he loves me and I love him and we’re going to live happily ever after.

That all being said, I am VERY happily married. I am glad I promised those things that I didn’t quite understand. Yes, we’ve had sickness and health, poor and wealth, arguments and make-ups, and  absolute selfish acts that make us wonder – “Is this the same person that I married?” The fact is God knew my husband and God knew me. He brought us together. He put us in front of this huge crowd for a purpose. We need their help. We also made the vows to him, to God. We need His help most.

His grace is sufficient for me and my marriage. His grace is sufficient for you and yours too.