Cleaning/House Up Keep Schedule

Since AG has become mobile, I have been having a difficult time keeping up with all I need to do.  I am spending a lot of time trying to make sure she isn't pulling something on top of her, eating something she shouldn't, etc.  I obviously don't want to place her in the pack n' play constantly.  I am so sentimental about leaving her for the first time "full time" in the fall to go back to teaching.  Due to this, I want to spend so much time with her...just playing.  She naps mid day (right now) and I can't fit in all the house work, blogging or TV or working out-MY time, cooking, etc, in that time.  One of my goals this summer was to come up with a cleaning weekly schedule.  This will be helpful in keeping up with the house once we're both working full time.   This is what I have come up with. 

Monday - Bathrooms

Tuesday - Dust and Vacuum

Wednesday - Laundry and Kitchen Clean Up

Thursday - Catch Up

Friday - Catch Up

Saturday - (Change Bed Linens) Laundry and Mop

Sunday - Put away all laundry and Meal Plan/Prep for the week

This SEEMS doable, but honestly this doesn't include church, my school work/meetings, cooking, and extracurricular activities for AG (such as swimming), etc.  SO, we will see how this actually pans out.  I'll keep you posted! 

Summer Bucket List

So, at the beginning of the summer I was feeling overwhelmed with all I needed and wanted to do.  Going back to work full time in August was a daunting thought.  I was overwhelmed with the feeling of wanting to spend as much possible quality time with AG AND get a lot of "stuff" done that I know won't get done once work begins.  I had seen many bloggers doing summer craft bucket lists, summer organization bucket lists, etc.  I decided to come up with just a summer bucket list.  I wanted to be realistic with what was possible.  I am known to make very unrealistic to-do lists :)  I figured if it was going to be helpful, it needed to be "real".  So, here is the list with updates on how things are going.

Clean Out Garage - DONE (still need to clean out laundry room)
Pinterest Crafts - IN PROGRESS (I've actually worked on these all summer here and there)
Freeze/Can Foods and Garden Veggies - IN PROGRESS (meatballs, spaghetti sauces, green peppers, squash for casserole are all done...more to come!)
Clean Out and Organize Extra Bedroom - SO NOT DONE!
Dash Game - We have yet to do this.  It is a bit more costly than I thought.  We'll see if that happens or not depending on our summer money
Fun, Inexpensive Family Fun - Going to the Children's Museum and lunch next week on R's day off.  We only have to pay for him since AG is not one yet and I am an educator!)  Other ideas... mountain day trip, ice cream outing, and Tanglewood Park for swimming and other fun.
School "Stuff" - IN PROGRESS - to much to do for this to be complete...all the teachers know you plan and "do" all year long :)
Create a cleaning/chore schedule - IN PROGRESS (I would like to have this complete and tried out before I go back to work.)
Photography FB Page and Website - NOT DONE
 Date Night for R and I - NOT DONE (funny, we have to plan ONE for the whole summer :))
Baby Proof - IN PROGRESS (each day I find something else AG can get into!!)
Picture Projects - PARTLY DONE (I ordered lots of prints when Snapfish had a great special, 99 prints for 99 cents.  You could use the code over and over, so I finally have pictures of AG.  I am working on framing and scrapbooking them now.  It was so inexpensive and I have so many frames, so those were free! :))
Day Trip to Charlotte- GOING FRIDAY (I'm going to help my sister clean her apartment since her lease is up next week.  I'll go to Trader Joe's for some gluten free noodles while we're there and probably take AG to visit the Disney Store since she's obsessed with Mickey and Minnie :))
Stretch our money for the summer - IN PROGRESS (this has not been easy, but we've done it.  I am not getting paid this summer, so our bills are about as much as we can spend on.  I have gotten some clothes and other needs for all of us thrift stores.  This is fun for me anyway.  I've been using recipes that stretch the foods that we have.  Our garden has helped tremendously with food cost as well.

I feel pretty good about all of this.  Most everything is at least in progress.  Happy Summer!!

This week's meal plan

My original plan was to put up the weekly meal plan on Sunday evenings.  We had a busy Sunday, which I don't like, as I really do want to work on honoring the Sabbath, but we did.  So, I didn't get the post up.  The purpose of me posting this is for me to be able to keep up with what we're eating and how often.  I am starting weight watchers and eventually hope to include the WW points for meals.  For "new", easy, or delicious meals, I will post or link to the recipe.  I have also found it helpful as a "blog reader" to come across others who meal plan, so hoping this could help others as well.  I usually will not post breakfast and lunch, as ours pretty much stays the same...cereal, egg whites, fruit, or protein bar for breakfast and sandwich, fruit, veggies, or leftovers for lunch.  So, here is the dinner menu

Mon - dinner at my in laws - AG tried broccoli for the first time and she loved it!!

Tues - Tomato Pie (Paula Deen Recipe) and Zuchinni Chips
Paula Deen's Tomato Pie..this is so easy and delicious.  Of course, I use a gluten free pie crust and we use the tomatoes from our garden.  
Zucchini Chips

Wed - Cola BBQ Crockpot Chicken, Cucumber Salad, and Mashed Potatoes
the chicken is easy, cheap, and tastes great.  Mix 1 bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce and 10 oz of coca cola in crockpot.  Add in the chicken and cook for 6-8 hours.

Thurs - Mexican Restaurant

Fri - Pasta with Zesty Sauce (Hunts) and Salad

Sat - Fruit Tray - We do this pretty often in the summer...just have a lot of fruit (watermelon, peaches, pears, grapes, etc)

Sun - Quesadillas, Rice, and homemade salsa (from the garden!)

So, here's our week.  I get out of preparing anything twice this week! :)

Frugal is not cheap!

My family always calls me cheap.  I don't feel like I'm cheap...I just like a good deal.  I have found some really cool items, clothes, etc, on the clearance racks.  I have recently found a love of thrift shopping.  It's great for me, because my family is very much on a budget.  I almost always find a great deal on something that I can use "as is", OR I find a great deal on something that I can up-cycle or create a project from.  Last week, I hit up a few thrift/consignment shops and this is what I found at Mega Thrift and a cute store downtown that has consignment, antiques, and more ...

The two frames for 25 cents each at Mega Thrift.  I cleaned them up and took the yucky paintings out of them.  I will post the finished project that I am doing using these as soon as I am done.

This skirt is my favorite...I love it!  It was $2 :)

 This Banana Republic High Waisted skirt was also $2!

This is for my sweet girl.  It's Fisher Price Little People horse and carriage for $4.  I bought her this, a Leap Frog Magnet set (for $1), an Elmo's World DVD (for $2), and a few books for about 25 cents each.

 

I'm in love with this soap dish...I found this at the store downtown.

A 99 cents frame from Mega Thrift.  I can always use a frame!

 I have been looking for a cute lamp for our living room and this vintage on did the trick!

Another skirt ($1)

This vintage 50 cents shirt for my girl as well.  She is precious in it and it is the same type of shirt (and brand) that I wore as a little one.  I have many pictures of myself in it as a baby.  I think I'm going to take some of AG and create a photo project with it.

In addition to these great finds, I got myself another basic gray skirt and brown dress pant for work ($1 each).  The pants will need to be let out because they are too short, but for $1, that is no big deal!  I found some fall/winter items for AG...Halloween sweatshirt, 3 pair of PJ's, 2 sweater dresses, a few pair of pants, and a skirt.  I bought ALL of this above and listed for just $32!!  I was super excited to fins myself and AG some clothes along with some toys, books, and cute things.  So, if you don't thrift shop, you should!  Some people feel weird about used things.  I don't...I wash the clothes, sanitize the rest, and I am good to go.  Also, if you have a Mega Thrift near by, you should check it out.  You have to REALLY look (especially for the adult clothing), but it's totally worth it.  The tags are different colors and each week a color is discounted to 50% off or more.  Great deals!!  Who else knows of some great thrift stores?!

Here we go...again!

Okay, I am going to attempt to blog...AGAIN!  I love writing, and lately, I have so much on my mind.  I think about raising kids, teaching, weight loss and exercise, living frugally, meal planning, ministry, keeping up with all that needs to be done in our home, photography, and much more.  I feel like this is a great way to share with, and glean from, others.  I look forward to taking off on a new blogging adventure!