A List. Do you have one?

Happy Monday! 

WE all have things on our 'To Do List'.

Depending on the day you ask me I may have only one or two {those are my favorite days} other days I have two-pages worth {those are my not-so favorite days}

Here is my list for today:

Share something from your To Do list for today. You may jog someone else's memory or maybe you'll have an answer for someone else's need. Remember, life is always a little better when shared with others. 

Plus, your 'to do list' feels a little less to do-ish when you put it out there in blog-land.

Promise.

See you in the comments!

Happy Friday!

Spring is right around the corner {i promise}. Today on my way to pick up one of my sweet boys from school I saw signs of it. In the midst of rain drops I saw signs of beauty. My favorite kind of weather is the bird chirping kind. The open your windows all day kind. The flip flops and painted toe nails kind. Oh Spring you are needed.

 Spring reminds me of natures way of change and renewal. It's funny how our everyday life is the same way. We go through transitions, changes, new beginnings, things unknown yet it such a beautiful time if we let it be. Do you seek out to find beauty in your transitions or the unknowns going on in your life or do you worry and not embrace the journey? I challenge you to see the beauty in your 'place' in life right now. Embrace it. Dance in it. Love it. 

Happy Weekending!

Things I Love Thursday: Clean home is a happy home.

Kinda like the saying, "happy wife, happy life". Those of you that know me know that I have this need for things to be clean and by clean, I mean picked up. I don't need the baseboard's scrubbed or white glove approved but I need it to 'appear' clean. You never know who is going to be stopping by and really, who wants to walk into a messy home? The funny thing is, if it's someone elses castle I don't mind messiness but for me and my castle ... yeah. Not a fan of the mess. 

Since many of you have asked me what I do with having three little boys and still keep a {somewhat} clean castle I thought I would fill you in on some little secrets that work for me. Because lets be honest, how many times do you look away for a split second only to find the room you just cleaned up a complete disaster {again}?

1. Get your kids involved. This is KEY! There is NO reason that YOU should be the only one picking up. I don't care the ages. All three of my boys {including my 15 month old} know that they are to pick up their toys once the are done playing. If they move on from one thing to thing then guess what? They clean it up before the move on. Really, don't be scared I am not a crazy cleaning mom. You would be surprised... my boys don't fight it {because they are used to it}. Of course, I will help but I really try to encourage them and reward them!

2. Clean Floor. Sounds simple. This has always been my go to. If the floor is clean then the room 'appears' to be clean. It doesn't take long. You will LOVE me if you simply try this. Do a 'floor check' clean up time with the family mutiple times a day. Is your house going to pass the white glove test? No. However, it will appear clean--er. Plus, it might just be what you need to tackle the rest of your castle.

3. Routine. Like everything else you do in life it's so much easier when you develop a routine which then becomes a habit. Do you wait till the dishes are piling over before you do them? Do you wait till you have 26 loads of laundry and then decide it might be time to start washing? How much easier would it be to simply create a schedule for yourself. If I am being totally honest I don't have a schedule {but it sounds good, right}... Here's what I do. After every meal I CLEAN the kitchen, put the dishes in the dishwasher. Before I put the kids down for bed {nap, quiet time or bed time} I make sure all toys are picked up {aka floor check}. You will be shocked if you just make cleaning a discipline, like everything else, it will become easy-er. It doesn't take long when you don't let it pile up. I try to do at least 2-3 loads of laundry a day. If I am playing with my boys I throw in a load. If I am watching t.v. or on the computer I throw in a load. You really do have time you just have to use the time wisely!

I know, some of you are saying you work full time or you have newborns or it's just not important to you. I get it, I really do but I also promise that you will feel 100% better about your castle if you just tweek a few things. Seriously, it will make your life easier and really if you are like me at all, as a mom I will take all the easy I can get!

Do you have any 'secret' cleaning tips?

Happy Cleaning!


linked to Things I Love Thursday

YOU are not a quitter.

AND, I’m not a quitter. I’m steadfast and committed. I stick with the things I enjoy and see the potential of. I also have the capacity to stick with things that are not pleasant but have lasting value.... until I let this word entire my brain and I freeze. I get scared. I do what I said I normally don't do. I quit. 

Picture your self at a track meet. You have your new Nike shoes on. Your number pinned on. Everyone says your going to do great at this race. No worries. You have it in the bag.

Your lined up. Your ready for the gun shot to go off. 

Your arms are pumping you are running and running fast. Never even thinking that failing is an option.

Until you see the finish line. It's close. Within sight. You are running past everyone. Your legs aren't stopping yet but your once focused mind suddenly starts to doubt. Starts to doubt your ability. Starts to compare your 'running' to the person running beside you or even 200 meters back. 

Do you quit? Do you just stop and stand there in the middle of your race? Do you let the fear get a hold of you? 

For me this is my struggle right now and for me this is what I continue to ask myself and tell myself and you. I am not a quitter. You are not a quitter. {in trying new things, in Joy, in Exercise, in the Word, in your Walk, in your Parenting, in your Illnes, in your Frienships, in your Marriages, in your Blogging, in accepting yourself, in loving your body} 


It's easy to quit. Anyone can quit. But you and I are stronger than that... we are called to more that.


Just wanted you to know. 


xoxox

Diet Coke IV Drip, Starbucks Inhaler... I'll take both.

Hello Darlings! How was your weekend? Hope your weekend was enjoyable and restful. Mine was so NOT restful. Enjoyable at times? 100% yes. Other times? 100% no. This weekend it was an emotional roller coaster. All three boys have been SO sick. {have I mentioned I am OVER winter, sickness, germs...} Coach W's team lost unexpectly in their 1st tournament game. By far, one of the toughest nights our castle has seen in as long as I can remember. Many tears from Coach W and some of my favorite kids.

One of the things I enjoy the most is having the basketball kids over. Since Friday was so not a good night we had some of the basketbal kids over for pizza and just to chat. I mean who wouldn't want to hang out with the coolest family EVER? So, we talked with the kids till 2am. Yep, so whoever says boys wont talk. I beg to differ. We sat on our L-shaped couch and literally talked for... over 6 hours. Blessed. Refreshed. Thankful. 

Which brings me to say... I am exhausted. I need like a permanent IV of caffeine. Do you ever feel that way? What do you do? I probably should of got up early to work out. That always helps me. It gives me an extra boost. However, I didn't. I need some ideas. What are some things you do to get much needed energy after a LONG weekend? Do tell. This momma is desperate.

As it is written.

It was a cold day, snow falling,  I was 8 1/2 months pregnant. I had just lost my dad. I remember going into our laundry room and shutting the door and crying into a pile of clothes so no one else could hear me. I remember that same day I wanted to just crawl in a hole and not be seen for days. Not a good place to be in but for me that is how I felt. Until, that same day I walked out my door in to the snow and went to get the mail. Not thinking really about much of anything I see a envelope with my name on it. It wasn't a card it was a handwritten letter from a friend. 

As I read the letter I can remember thinking, what a great friend, she took the time out of her busy life to sit down with a pen and paper simply to tell me she was thinking about me and praying for me. It was simple. It was meaningful. It was perfect. For me, it was what I needed on that very day. 

Which brings me to a question for you and myself. When was the last time you wrote a real letter? Nothing typed on a computer or sent via text. A pen to the paper letter. There is just something about receiving something tangible to remind someone else that they are thought of and loved.

I am challenging myself and you to take 10 minutes out of your week. Make a list of people who are on your heart. Sit down and simply write. It doesn't have to be earth shattering, just intentional.  Mail them out. Sign. Sealed. Delivered. Sometimes that is the hardest thing to follow through with.

 

Photo

Who can you write a card to today? Will you do it? I hope so, what an easy way to simply bless someone else! 

linked to Things I Love Thursday

To build or not to build. That is the question.

Okay, so like I promised yesterday here is the BIG topic that has been taking place in our fabulous castle. To build or not to build? We have been throwing around the idea of building a house for almost 8 years. Of course that is all it was, an idea. Something we would talk about, not something we would actually do. There are a ton of exciting things about building a new house. It makes me giddy just to even think about it. 


It's once again Top Ten Tuesday and because of that... Here are 10 reasons why I think it's a fan flippintastic idea. We can design a house to fit our needs {and some wants}. We can pick the layout, colors, all the light fixtures, the size of the rooms, the height of our doors {sound's weird but I will show you why it makes a difference in a home}, number of windows, how much sq. footage we want to be carpet vs hardwood, type of door handles {another home pet peeve}, plus I can design my dream kitchen and pretty much be involved in everything. From a control freaks stand point this sounds fabulous. However, there are a ton of reasons not to build as well. One thing is we have three little kids and what if our house wouldn't sell {side note: our house is awesome and really anyone would be lucky to have it} and we could be stuck with two house payments. YIKES! I am truly not as concerned with that as I love the *idea* of getting a fabulous custom home with all the bells and whistles. I am not one who likes to get just the basic. Although I am thrifty, I like really nice things. I always have. Plus, I have an obsession with houses and decorating them. So, for me this is a clean canvas to go buck wild. 


Coach W has done a great job of keeping us debt free (excluding the house payment). I am not saying that to be boastful but to say that money is the one thing we don't argue about at all. I think because in the beginning of our marriage we had some key things established as what to expect. Plus, I did marry an accountant. If this tells you anything he can tell you where pretty much 99% of all of our money has been spent in the last 7 plus years. Do we make a ton? Absolutely not but the Lord has given us great discipline and has blessed us for being good stewards of our money. I say ALL of that to say I would hate to see us get in debt or begin to argue about building, add ons, stone fireplaces with plasma t.v's in all the rooms... you know? All that new house talk. Most importantly I don't want to become obsessed with what I want. It's a scary place to be when it's all about you {aka. me}. I want to focused on things that matter but I would love a new castle to share and bless with so many others.


So, what do you think? Have you built a home before? Do you know someone who has? I really do trust what you guys think and would love to know your opinion.  


Ready.


Set.


Tell.


To build or not to build?

This post is linked up to Top Ten Tuesday at Oh Amanda