Cleaning Schedule!

Soooo, what kind of cleaning schedule works for you? I can't figure this one out. I keep going from doing one thing every day, to just doing what needs to be done as I see it, then back again. Right now, it's cleaning one thing every day. 

I just don't like laundry. And that's sort of a bad thing because we have a lot of it. I *really* procrastinate when it comes to folding and putting it up, so I'm trying out a new method. I used to just do ALL the laundry one or two days a week and that left me with like five loads, and inevitably one (or more) would end up sitting in a basket unfolded for an undetermined period of time. I'd have stacks of clothes sitting on dressers (seriously, how long would it take to actually put it up??? It's a few inches away!) So, there's my housekeeping secret...I don't care for laundry. Anyway, the new "method" I'm trying...I'm shooting for doing a load COMPLETELY Monday through Friday. Sometime two, depending on what needs to be done. For instance, I wash sheets every Monday, and I've been doing another load as well, just because it gets backed up over the weekend and needs doing. I'm working hard at getting it folded and put up...I don't do it all the time yet but I'm getting there. Silly, the things we put off. It's a ten minute chore, folding and putting up a load of clothes! I've been folding on the kitchen table, so that it has to be moved to eat. I used to fold on our bed, but it would get left there until bedtime, and the kids would be asleep so I couldn't put it in their room and we'd be tired so stacks would just get moved somewhere else. 

As of right now, in addition to a load of clothes every day, I have another thing to clean every day. Currently, Monday is floors (vacuuming the rug, sweeping, and maaaaybe mopping,) Tuesday is bathroom, Wednesday is dusting and straightening surfaces, Thursday is floors again, and Friday I clean out the van. I try (ha) to make up whatever day I go to town, because that's never the same and I don't always get my cleaning done before we go to town. And after we get home...ha! 

This past week was the first week I didn't clean the van since we've gotten it, and I'm pretty proud of that. (Not that I didn't clean it, but that I've only missed once. Jacob worked on some construction stuff Friday and was using the extension cord all day, so I couldn't plug up the shop vac.) I used to only clean cars out when you couldn't get in them, or when you were greeted by an avalanche when you opened the door. However, I've made it a point to always keep an empty grocery bag (actually a few in the glovebox) in the van and I fill it up with trash as it accumulates. (Even little stuff...unwrap a piece of gum and the wrapper goes in the bag.) Every time we get out of the van, I make sure Aaron doesn't have any trash in the back seat...he brings it all to me to put in the trash bag. Toys do build up but they all come in on Fridays, as does the trash bag. So, on Fridays, I get everything out of the van that doesn't belong (a packed diaper bag, my Ergo baby carrier, and sunglasses are the only things that stay in the van. Oh, and a small cooler, a couple folding chairs,and the stroller stay in the back/trunk) I wipe the dash/steering wheel/radio down and wipe the windows down, and I vacuum. Sometimes I'll wash the outside but not always. I use Armor All stuff on the dash every other week or so. I don't think that the van *has* to be dirty just because we have kids. I'm trying to teach Aaron to clean up after ourselves as we go, and he's done really great, even trying to get me to take trash from him as we drive. We do eat in the van occasionally but again, all trash gets cleaned up immediately, and little food bits that may have been dropped get vacuumed up no more than a few days later. (If I see Aaron has dropped noticeable pieces of food, I throw them out when I get the kids out) My van has stayed cleaner than ever and it only takes 15-20 minutes (if I don't wash the outside) once a week! Jacob even opened the door the other day and said something about the van sure was staying pretty clean. It never gets bad if you do it every week. Right now we still don't go a lot (grocery once a week or so) so it would probably be worse if we went more. 

I'm still a work in progress with efficient housekeeping. And I keep finding that it changes as schedules change. So, what worked for me a few month ago isn't necessarily the best method for me anymore. I guess it's neither here nor there, so long as everything stays clean and picked up. ;) 

Aaron helps me clean up and he really loves drying and putting dishes up. 

Yard Saling

We live really close to the 127 yard sale they have annually (I think they say it's the longest yard sale in the country or something?) so we usually stop at a few of the bigger ones when it's going on. It was this past weekend so we decided to go yard saling (is that the correct usage of the word? Lol) Saturday when Jacob was home. We ended up leaving around 11am or so and stayed gone all day long. It was SO HOT! I love to yard sale but between the heat (it was like 90*) and getting everyone in and out of the car, I was pretty yard saled out by the time we were done...and we only stopped at maybe four of the bigger ones. (Bigger ones being defined as fields set up with a million or so different sales.) I carried Oliver in my Ergo and we put Chloe in a stroller. Before we stopped at any sales, we went to the store and stocked our cooler with ice, waters, and gatorades. Jacob bought a retractable dog leash for Aaron. I always talked about people who did that, because they couldn't control their kids and make them walk beside them. Well...whatever. Lol! We were in and out of the car all day long, pulled off of the highway no less, and once we looped the leash around Aaron's belt loops, he could walk by us without having to hold our hands and yet wouldn't wander too far off. And no one would steal him, which would be a plus. Honestly, what three year wouldn't want to go to all the toys at multiple yard sales?! I had to eat yet more parenting advice from my younger self, listen to my smart hubby, and everything worked out wonderfully. 

I actually spent $3 at yard sales. 🙄 There was tons of stuff but I really couldn't (and just plain didn't want to) go through the piles of stuff. I bought Chloe a toy and bought a soap dispenser for my bathroom. Big spender. 

We started in Russell Springs and drove all the way to Danville, where we hit Walmart and Hobby Lobby as well. Now that store...man, I love it! That's where I spent my money. I bought a clock...

A wind chime...

And a little stand for my kitchen. I had been looking for a glass cake plate for this purpose but I think I like this better. And I couldn't find a plate like I was looking for. 

We recently replaced some windows so that's why my windowsill isn't finished. It'll be done soon. We're slowly replacing windows and siding on our house. It's looking good so far! I'll have to get an updated picture sometime soon when we get it done. 

Kids are all napping and I've got to find some lunch so I'll talk to y'all later! 

Getting Up Early

This post showed up in my Facebook feed this morning as I drank my coffee and scrolled through the new stuff people had to say. I started composing a post to share this article there, but it was getting a bit long-winded, so I figured I'd bring it over here instead. I miss blogging regularly, and I find myself "writing" posts in my head all the time, but they rarely make it here. Maybe I'll change that. Anyway, here's the post:

http://dirtandboogers.com/how-every-mom-can-have-happy-mornings/

Everything this post points out is so true for me. I mentioned before that I like quiet, and truth is, it's hard to come by these days. I love my kids and I wouldn't trade them and this life for anything, but the noise is nonstop! Naptime is nice, but it's not every day that I can get everyone sleeping at the same time, and Aaron doesn't end up going to sleep most of the time. I guess he's outgrowing naptime, which is sad. Very sad. Like really, VERY SAD. As of right now, I still have him lay down at naptime and he lays there quietly for an hour or so. Sometimes he falls asleep, sometimes he doesn't, but it's quiet time nonetheless. 

I love to sleep. But I also love some quiet time for myself. At this point in my life, I'm thinking I'm just going to have to learn to like getting up early, for the sole purpose of quiet. Like this blogger said, my attitude is much better when I have half an hour to myself before anyone else gets up. I just need to wake up quietly, and as I said before, Aaron never stops talking. So if he's up, it's not quiet. 

I'm not talking about getting up super early, because at this point I'm still up two or three (or four or five) times a night. But if I could make myself get up at say, 6:30, I'd have at least an hour alone! (Or just with Oliver and he's pretty quiet) I'd be a lot happier when Aaron gets up and we all know that would be good. I HATE feeling dread when I hear him get out of bed and I think having my own quiet time beforehand would really help guard against that. 

Another thing is, if I get up early-ish all week, I could sleep til 7:30 or 8 on the weekend and feel like I was getting to sleep in. It's all in your head, right?! I try to keep everything as quiet as possible on the weekend mornings so that Jacob can sleep in, and in all honestly, I struggle with a bit of bitterness in that area at times. Because I never, ever really get to sleep in. Jacob works super hard all week and I want him to be able to sleep in on the weekends, but it is hard because sometimes I do just want a break. And please don't comment that he should let me sleep in. The feminists can shoot me but I'm a firm believer in taking care of one's man and letting him sleep in (which he really loves to do) is just one of the ways I can do that. Kinda like I try to keep the house clean so he doesn't feel like he has to clean when he gets home from work. But, I digress.... So, I'm thinking, if I would be disciplined enough to get up at 6:30 during the week, sleeping til 8 on the weekend would feel special. 

This is definetly something I'll have to work on, as getting up early does NOT come natural to me, but I really feel like if would be beneficial to everyone in my family if I could get in this habit. And if something I can do will make my family better, that's something I need to work on. Catch y'all later. 😁

My Day

I planned all week to go to town yesterday. I spent a couple days working on my Kroger list, organizing coupons, matching coupons with sales, adding details to my list...such as how much my coupon was for, how many of which items I needed to get the special pricing, etc. Yesterday morning, Oliver woke up at 6 so I laid in bed and fed him but it was pretty apparent he wasn't going back to sleep, so we got up at 6:30. I ended up being all ready to go before the other kids woke up and I was jut going to have to feed them and get them cleaned up and out the door. I'd be out of the house before 10am and we'd be able to get our shopping done before having lunch with Jacob in town, and we'd be home in time for naps. Soooo very perfect. Ahem. 

Chloe woke up crying, which was weird, because she's typically pretty happy when she first wakes up. We weren't five bites into breakfast when she gave everything back she just ate. I thought maybe she'd drank her smoothie too fast so I tried a couple more bites. Bad idea, stupid. I sat and rocked her for a while and after she got sick yet again it was pretty obvious I shouldn't be taking this kid to town today. Sigh. So much for my picture perfect morning. She ended up sleeping pretty much all day and was herself by evening. 

So, this morning, things didn't come along quite as well as yesterday, but it was fine and we were out the door by 10:30. There were Kroger coupons...nearly all for things that were on my list...in my mailbox. Go figure. We were in town by 11 and I had time to go to Goodwill (where I found two skirts and a pair of project jeans...it's all fun and games til you have to try stuff on wearing an Ergo) and Joanns before lunch. Met Jacob for lunch and we had our hour together and took him back to work. We drive to Kroger and as soon as I parked, it started POURING. We sat there for a few minutes and it did stop, for which I was so very thankful. It's quite the process getting everyone out of the car and I didn't want to get soaked. Anyway, I got all my new coupons added to the ones I already had and we were off. 

Most of my Kroger trips turn out just fine. This one...well, it was less fine. The buggy was wet and Aaron's really too big anyway, so he walked beside me. And we are so not prepared for that...experience. He touches everything. He's not bad, as in he doesn't throw fits and scream (knock on wood) but he's so very inquisitive and energetic...and I'm over here pushing the buggy with Ollie strapped in his carrier on me with my paper list and pen and my phone so I can check my digital coupons and my paper coupons. 😳 Aaron is really a big help, but he is challenging at the same time. I tell him I'll give him a treat when we get to the car if he behaves. Somehow today, between poking a random stranger's derrière...(SERIOUSLY.) and trying to steal a thing of tic tacs in line (I really didn't expect to see a mouthful of orange tic tacs when I checked on him. I asked where they came from and he pulled the container out of his pocket) he forfeited his treat. 

So, random stranger, I am so very sorry my three year old poked your rear. To the very kind lady who stayed after paying for her groceries to help me unload my cart, thank you so much. 

I did see someone who used to know my mom. I smiled at her and she looked confused for a minute and then said "oh, I know you. I just saw a busy mom and I didn't recognize you." I guess that's about it...I'm not who I used to be. I AM the busy mom instead. 

Aaron never. Ever. Stops talking. Ever. I'm a pretty quiet person. I like quiet. Aaron talked non-stop the whole way home. 

"Mama?" 

What buddy? 

"Mama did you bring new underwear?" 

Did you wet your underwear? 

"No. Did you bring new underwear?" 

Do you need to go potty? 

"No I already went potty" 

(At Joanns two hours ago) 

Do you need to go potty?

"I *already* went potty!" 

Fast forward to three minutes later...

"Mama I gotta go potty"

????????????

Thankfully we did make it home with dry clothes. 

He just went on and on, talking and talking and making random noises. I guess at some point I just zoned out and wasn't paying attention. We'd almost made it home (30 min later) when he says 

"Mama are you asleep?" 

Haha...no, buddy, I'm not asleep...I'm driving. 

"Mama! I thought you asleep." Laughing 

"I thought you asleep mama!" 

"Mama! I thought you asleep!" 

"I thought you asleep mama!" 

Now I'm going to pull out what remains of my hair. 😬

Not really...most of time I enjoy our trips to town. I figure they've got to learn and heck, for that matter, I've got to learn too. Today was trying but we got it done. And I'm exhausted and I have a headache. Lol

Still here

Time is a funny thing, you know? Life happens, you're in your twenties and you think life is passing you by, then all the sudden you wake up and you've been married almost four years with three kids. Life is monotonous at times, but at the same time new every day. All the sudden you laughingly tell your three year old "you're weird!" and he comes back with "you're weird too!" Well...ok then. You're cooking supper and your husband is wrestling with the two older babies in the kitchen floor while the new baby watches and laughs from his swing. And you think life is near perfect. 

But it's not sometimes. You had three babies really fast and now you're fat. How in the heck did that happen? So you try to fit in exercise, you quit eating junk and all the sudden it's a month and a half later and you're down 15 lbs. Got a long way to go but it's working. You still hate the treadmill but you like how you feel when you get done. Your husband likes you (a lot) no matter what but he does come up and grab you from behind, kisses your neck, and says "you're getting skinny" Haha...those rose colored glasses are something else. 

It's scary, too...this grown up, responsible life. Seems like yesterday I birthed a baby and everybody cried and said "it's a girl! You got a girl!" Now it's nearly two years later and we're in the middle of Doctor visits and on the brink of being immersed in therapies and specialists trying to figure out why our adorable, sweet, cuddly, loving baby girl can't walk or talk. I'm not sure what to think at this point...just trying to do what needs to be done and take one step at a time. 

So, life is crazy and just when you think it can't get any busier, it does. 

4th of July parade

Chloe sure does love Oliver 

Pretty girl

Chillin on the porch

Our garden is coming along. I didn't get all of it in this picture. 

We'd bought a newer explorer last December (my old one is getting on up there and it's small) and we drove it for a while after Jacob got it all fixed up and running (long story there...so glad for a handy hubby!) but it was still tight. It was an '03 so it was made bigger than my '97 but we still had three car seats across the middle and it was just..small. So, Jacob found another great deal (he's really good at that) and bought me an '08 minivan. So now I think I'm something. Lol not really, but it's the nicest thing we've ever had..and super roomy. I had to screenshot my Instagram picture...couldn't find my original. 

It also gets good gas mileage, which is a huge plus, since we live 30 minutes from anywhere. 😏 This is an exaggerated picture...after driving long straight stretches. But it still averages 20-something easily. 

Here's me with the little bud a while back now. 

That's all folks...

Life these days

Life is just crazy these days! In a good way, for the most part, but definitely crazy. I have a gazillion things to do today and I feel so behind at the moment. I'm sitting in my recliner nursing Oliver, staring at all the stuff that needs to be done, while Aaron comes running to me saying "Chloe touched the potty again!" Sigh. Lol. 

I keep a chalkboard on my fridge and I write a list every morning of stuff that needs to be done. Today it says "laundry, menu/fridge, kids' room, string off and mulch around the garden, fill ice trays, workout, treadmill" Wow. And I'm siting in my recliner nursing the ever-starving (or so he thinks...at 2 months and 15 lbs I think he's ok) Ollie. 😬 I've got laundry going already and I've already done my workout. We've all had breakfast and gotten dressed and gotten cleaned up/hair fixed and all that. I filled the ice trays up so I at least marked a couple things off my list already. We started working on our landscaping and garden area yesterday. I'd like to get some work done on it before Jacob gets home from work so we can get stuff planted together. Trying to figure out where making supper fits into all that at the moment... 

I'm feeling really good these days. Well, other than Sunday and some yesterday. Aaron and I apparently got food poisoning Saturday maybe and spent all Sunday throwing up. Lots of fun. Sure helped my weight loss though! The last couple of weeks I've been eating decently and not so many carbs, cutting breads and pastas and potatoes mostly. Man, I love potatoes. Mostly eating lots and lots of veggies and meats and cheese. Anyhow, I've also been doing some sort of workout (stuff I find on Pinterest and can do here at home) as well as walking/jogging on the treadmill 4-5 days a week. I don't do anything when Jacob's home on the weekends, as far as exercising (or cleaning the house, obviously!) so I'm  shooting for 5 days a week. And there are days when I go to town and sometimes I don't get my treadmill in on those days. Anyway, between all that and food poisoning, I did lose 8 lbs last week. I've got so far to go it's not even funny. Three kids in less than three years hasn't been good for my weight. Especially since I've never been tiny. 🙄

You want to get sympathy and sometimes crazy looks? Take these kids grocery shopping alone. 😎 I get out with the kids once a week or so and get my shopping done. Sometimes we'll go to Campbellsville where Jacob works (mechanic shop) and meet him for lunch and then shop. That's always fun. I do pretty good most days, but we do draw attention. Lol. I keep Oliver in the ergo baby carrier, Chloe rides in the front of the buggy, and Aaron rides in the back. Everybody usually behaves fairly well (sometimes not) and it works just fine. I could have help (I have sisters in law) but I feel like I need to figure it out...they are my kids, after all. ☺️ I also think the kids need to get used to behaving in town, so I do think they need to be with me to learn. 

Oliver finished his snack so I've got to get busy. Life is crazy, and life is good. 😃 

Oliver Madden Ellis

Oliver Madden Ellis was born Thursday, March 24 at 7:20pm. He weighed 8lb 14oz and is 21 inches long. We had another healthy homebirth and we are both just fine. Birth still hurts and is still a lot of hard work. Surprise! And of course you need pictures. 😍

We had quite a stressful time of it this time. I was due March 16th. I'd had contractions on and off, every day, for about the last two months. I thought for sure he'd be early. However, my due date came and went without any baby. I woke up to different contractions Wednesday, the 23rd and had other signs of impending labor so I let my midwife know to be ready. Wednesday came and went. Thursday morning my contractions kept coming and were fairly close together. My midwife came and checked and went home again. My labors have been so long and slow typically, and she lives pretty close, so we told her I'd let her know when things felt more serious. I think I was around 7cm dilated when she left. I laid down to try to get some rest, had a strong contraction, and felt my water break...that was around 2pm I think. (Times gets hazy) She came back then and that's when things started hurting worse. (I'm a birthing anomaly...I dilate most of the way without labor hurting too badly) I kept on like that for a couple hours...really strong contractions that hurt pretty good. 

Jacob's family was keeping Aaron and Chloe this whole time. Sometime (4 or 5pm-ish) Jacob's dad came over and said that Chloe had fallen and cut her tongue. He said it was pretty bad so Jacob and his mom left to go look at it. (Two houses away) They came back and said it was bad and she would have to go to the ER. A parent has to be present. Jacob would have to take her. They told me they could try to write a paper and have Jacob sign it saying that his parents could take her but there were no guarantees that would be sufficient. I told them he'd have to go. I was a horrible mess emotionally (i.e. I was crying a lot) this whole time. On top of this labor that was getting pretty doggone serious, my baby was hurt (I was already worried about her being away from me so long, without accidents) and my husband was going to have to leave. My midwife checked again and I was 8cm. She told them he should try to go somewhere close by so he wouldn't be gone long. They called the closest ER and explained the situation and I guess there was a long wait there, because they couldn't go to that one. They had to drive 45 min away to another ER. When they got there, they told them they couldn't do anything about it and they would have to go to Lexington. Two hours away. I didn't know all of this throughout labor as my information was being filtered, to try to make things as easy as possible. Emotionally, this was horrible for me. Jacob is always there for me and has delivered our babies. He gets me through this. And he wasn't here. His "I'm so proud of you" when it's all over makes it better. 

Oliver was born at 7:20. I didn't know until after I delivered that they sent Chloe to Lexington. At that time, they thought they'd be putting her to sleep and stitching her tongue. Turns out, after 3 hours waiting in the hallway with her crying, they sent her home and said she'd heal just fine. She has a numbing medicine and she's on Tylenol and Motrin for pain. I think the worst thing is she can't suck her thumb. She had just pulled up on a table, and I think she clipped a bench with her chin when she sat down, biting down on her tongue. It's all the way across her tongue, about halfway back. A freak accident. 

Jacob didn't get back home to me until around 2am. I'm glad he was with her, but I needed him so bad too. It was a horrible situation with the worst timing possible. I did have my mom and my mother in law, and everyone did a great job helping me get this little guy here. But sometimes you just really need your husband. It really wasn't easy. But Oliver's here now, we're slowly adjusting (with a lot of help!) everyone is healthy(ish!) and it'll be ok.