Archive for the ‘New House’ Category
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Laundry Troubles
A while back, I posted my cleaning schedule on Facebook. It worked well for several months, but then, after Pascha, I fell out of the habit. I still, typically, keep the house somewhat neat and clean. Obviously, some day are better than others. However, there are two areas in the house that I have trouble keeping clean: the laundry room and the Master bedroom. The root of the problem in both of these rooms is one thing:
LAUNDRY.
The combination of cloth diapers and regular laundry forces me to prioritize, and if I am going to do this, the diapers come first. We reliably have clean, cloth diapers ready to go at any moment. Clean clothes… not so much.
It is not that we never have clean clothes. The problem is that the clothes live in the laundry basket.
The kids and I spend most of our time downstairs during the day, and the bedrooms are upstairs. This is one of the major deterrents for my being able to efficiently put the laundry away. But it is still no excuse… I could be doing it now instead of blogging, right? But I dread it…
I am writing this because
I NEED HELP.There.
I admit it!
Please leave a comment with the method that you use to do your laundry and put it away.
I would appreciate any advice at this point.
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Perspective
My husband recently decided to spoil me and he had someone come to our home and clean for six hours.
While this was happening, I took the kids out of the house until resting time. As I pulled into the driveway, I could feel the excitement rising up inside of me.
I couldn’t wait to see the clean house!
However, what I found was not quite what I had expected. The areas that I had asked the cleaning person to focus on didn’t look much better than they had when I had left. I had specifically asked for the blinds to be “wiped down”- they were covered in dust and fingerprints. They needed more than just a light dusting, but that is all that they got.
After surveying the job done, I realized I could have accomplished that result in a mere two hours.
I was disappointed.
I was frustrated.
In my anger, I started cleaning up the spots that had been missed. The spots that really needed to be done.
I carefully cleaned the blinds. Dusting and then cleaning each wooden slat until it was gleaming in the sunlight, feeling resentful that I had spent money on things I normally do myself.
And that is when it hit me: if the cleaning person hadn’t come, I never would have cleaned the areas that needed it the most.
I would have kept maintaining the house without ever taking the time to clean the areas that aren’t in the forefront.
Even though I was upset at first, in the quiet moments as I cleaned the blinds, God showed me how important it is to be thankful for all things.
I am thankful that the major areas of the house were cleaned by someone other than myself.
I am thankful that I was able to deep clean some areas.
I am thankful for my dear husband who loves me and gives me gifts that help me and improve my life, even if I don’t realize it at first.
I am most thankful for a loving, patient God who reveals such great truths to me in moments of frustration.
With a change in my perspective I was able to see the gift that I had been given.
I am truly thankful.
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Out With The Old– Finally!
We are finally putting our former home on the market.
Yes, we’ve been living in our new house for nearly a year now.
We’ve been dragging our heels a bit because we know we aren’t going to get what we should for the house right now, but we can’t hang on to it forever.This week we put new carpeting in all of the bedrooms, so I had to make a trip to the store that installed the carpets. I took along a friend, and we walked past the kitchen section admiring the products. Oh, how I wish I had a double oven… but I can’t complain because I really do love my new kitchen.
The only thing I would change is the oven. The door handle falls off all the time. You would think that since this house is only a few years old things like that wouldn’t happen. It is not something that we can afford to replace right now, but I am always searching for shopping deals. Sometimes I just want to go back into the old house and take the oven over there. It was a great oven that we got for a steal. We always compare shopping prices, and my husband found it for close to nothing. He is always great at finding big deals, and I am the one who finds the day to day deals. We are a good team.
Now if only we could team up and get this house sold soon.
Anyone interested??
I’ve been compensated for this post. All opinions are mine.
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Snow– That Didn’t Melt the Next Day!
More than a week ago, it started snowing and the snow hasn’t melted!
We’ve lived here six years, and I can’t remember a time when the snow stayed on the ground for this long (snow without ice, I mean, because we get a lot of ice that holds the snow down). However, it started to melt yesterday, so I don’t think it will last much longer.
Looking out the window at the snow. It was much too cold for them to actually go outside and play that day.
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Welcome to Our New Home
I’ve decided to just give you the link to the photos if you want to see them.
Say hi to Leo and Spunky!
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The One Thing I Dislike About the New House
When it rains, it FLOODS!
This photo was taken from the back door, which is where we have to let the dogs out. That means that on rainy days, my kitchen floor is not only wet, it is muddy.
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Beginning next week, I am going to be posting a Tour Of Our Home each day. Enjoy!
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Some Light Reading in Light Clothing
My husband left “On the Incarnation” by St. Athanasius on the coffee table, and Spunky picked it up and sat down on our new bench to read it aloud to herself. She was really into it; so I had to take a photo. And, yes, I do let her walk around in just her diaper from time to time. Hopefully next week we will start potty training so he diapers may be taking a break until the baby comes.
And the bench:
I just picked it up on Wednesday morning from an Auction House. It is made without any nails or screws. And I am in love with it.
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Because I Need Some ME Time
I have to admit that this has been a REALLY hard week for me. I am on edge, cranky and just plain exhausted. I haven’t had a good night’s sleep in a week and it is wearing on me.
I was planning on going to a baby shower this afternoon, but it turns out that we may all have some type of streptococcal thingy (obviously, I am not in the medical field) as we recently came in contact with a child who has had and may again have scarlet fever. The sore throats, Punky’s fever and rashes on the kids worried the after hours doctor at my pediatrician’s office; so the kids will be going to the doctor first thing in the morning.
My hubby has also come down with it and will be going to see his doctor tomorrow as well.
I called my midwife, and she immediately prescriped antibiotics for me- having strep and being pregnant is never a good thing.
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Spunky is napping. Daddy is resting. Punky has his usual crazy amount of energy. And all I want to do right now is sit. So I am going to do it, and to fill my time is something fun I saw over on Lora‘s blog:
8 things I’m looking forward to:
- everyone being healthy again
- getting a good night’s sleep
- visiting my family at the end of May
- going for a walk with my kids
- eating an ice cream cone (I have been craving one!)
- finishing unpacking the rest of the boxes
- cleaning out our garage so that I can put my car in it again
- taking some Mommy Time– away from the house
8 things I did yesterday:
- cleaned up the disasters
- did some laundry
- yelled a little too much
- watched part of Enchanted with Punky, but he fell asleep
- washed my floors three times (I am not exaggerating)
- went to bed early… but…
- stayed up later than I wanted… and…
- finished reading Sense and Sensibility
8 things I wish I could do:
- sew
- stay away from too many sweets
- find a balance between maintaining the house and spending time with the kids
- get on a better schedule
- wake up earlier and walk with the kids
- control my temper better
- have more patience
- bake a really good batch of chocolate chip cookies (any recipes you want to share??)
8 shows I watch:
- The Office
- 30 Rock
- Heroes
- American Idol
- Anything on the Food Network
- I guess this list only has 5… oh well
If you are reading this, consider yourself tagged and play along… or not. No biggie
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Well, Punky and I are going to “pick some things up at the store”, to use his words. Have a nice afternoon!
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Little Miss Helpful and the Love of a New Dishwasher
My favorite room in our new house is the kitchen, and one of my favorite things about the kitchen is the dishwasher. I can’t get over how much more time I have in the day now that I am no longer washing all of our dishes by hand. (Yes, dishwashers ARE eco-friendly! Especially if you only use them when they are completely full and let them air dry.. in case you were wondering.)
My little Spunky loves to help Mommy empty the dishwasher. She specifically helps with the silverware and actually puts it away in the drawer by herself (although, I have to organize it at a later time).
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Big Changes On the Way
We’re having a baby!
We’re buying a new house!
We’re overwhelmed… well, I am.
Right around Christmas, we found out that we are having baby #3. We saw the midwife on Tuesday, and had an ultrasound. I am only about six weeks along; so I am going back next Tuesday for an ultrasound to determine the due date. It looks like we will be meeting a new addition the first week in September. That means we’ll have August, September and October babies! Busy time of year for us! Spunky will have just turned two and Punky will be two months away from turning four. Talk about busy!
With this exciting news, we knew something would have to be done about our present living situation. We bought our current house two months before Punky was born, but grew out of it a long time ago. With my hubby working from home, we lose an entire room to his office. It was time for us to find a bigger place. BUT we had a long conversation about it and decided not to look at all. We were going to wait a while and then determine what we would do.
However, my industrious mother-in-law started looking online for houses in our area and found a house. It is 3800 square feet- more than 3 times the size of our current house. It has five bedrooms and three full baths. Everything is immaculate- it doesn’t need any work at all. It is an incredible investment opporunity for us during this time in the economy- as everyone keeps saying, this is the time to buy. We looked around at others houses in our area in the same price range and nothing compared. It is a huge blessing that this house fell into our laps.
We never imagined our life would be like this. We have so much to be thankful for … but the most difficult thing of all is being so far away from our families. I know it is hard on everyone to be a great distance from each other. It is heartwrenching to watch my children cry when a visit with family comes to an end. If I could have it the way I wanted, we would all be together. But, thank God for cell phones and Skype! At least we are able to keep in touch with our families on a daily basis.
It is hard making big decisions like this that keep you away from your family. I feel sad and excited, about both the house and the fact that this is another baby who will be born far away from family- it is very bittersweet for me. This isn’t a decision that was made lightly. After many tears and much prayer, we feel confident in this choice and in God’s provision for our family.
Please keep us and our family in yours prayers during this time.
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Prayer for Children
O God, our heavenly Father, who loves mankind and are a most merciful and compassionate God, have mercy upon Your servants for whom I humbly pray to You to care for and protect. O God, be their guide and guardian in all their endeavors, lead them in the path of Your truth, and draw them nearer to You, so that they may lead a godly and righteous life in Your love as they do Your will in all things. Give them Your grace, and mercy so that they may be patient, hard working, tireless, devout and charitable. Defend them against the assaults of the enemy, and grant them wisdom and strength to resist all temptation and corruption, and direct them in the way of Salvation, through the goodness of Your Son, our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
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