All thumbs today. :(

I'm really starting to think I'm not nearly as crafty as I think I am.  I've been working on projects all day....nothing has turned out right.  :(

Sigh.

Ohmygeez, so very much to do.

Lots to do, so much to do, TONS to do.

We leave for Ohio on Thursday.  Thursday very early morning to be exact.  In the time before we leave, these are the things I have to get done:

Finish all 32 crochet squares for my twinkies baby blankets.  I've got 16 1/2 done.  Lots more to do.  After the squares are done, I've got to sew them all together and then add a border.  I can piece them together in Ohio and border them in Ohio, but I've GOT to get them crocheted BEFORE we leave.

Make 2 baby hats and 2 pairs of baby booties.  (Seriously, Luke and Sarah, one baby at a time would have been a lot easier on Aunt Nicole's craftiness.)

Get my boys Halloween costumes finished up.  Mario and Luigi need gloves, buttons, and mustaches. Jax needs a whole costume.  :(  He was Pauly D (from the Jersey Shore) for the Halloween party, but I don't think that is going to work for this weekend...especially since we cut his hair and we can't blow it out anymore.

Make Joyce her birthday presents.  I'm making a ruffle pillow and a color block scarf.  I'm also making a scarf for myself!  :)  These things shoulda been done already, but when talking to me, you know that I'm so very last minute.  I love the pressure apparently.  I sure hope that's something I can get better at.  :(

Finish planning Sarah's baby shower.  Lots of things will be done when we get to Ohio so I don't have to travel with completed decorations (and risk them getting ruined).  I think my bestie is coming over on Friday night to help me be crafty.  We need to work on games, favors, and decor.  Suddenly this shower that I've been planning for months just got very overwhelming.  :)

Pack for a ten day trip to Ohio.  Lots of cold weather means lots of layers...which take up way more room in the van.  Boo.

Clean the house.

Work on some pretty big school projects with Adisson.

I can do this.  I just need to reallllllly prioritize my time the best way possible.  Oh and Adam's birthday is tomorrow and we'll be doing a little party here at home that I'll need to make a cake for and decorate the house.  It's overwhelming to be so very busy with so many projects but I LOVE making things and I really LOVE making things for people I love.  Anyway, gotta get to work.  :)

Oh yeah.....

Last night I walked/jogged two miles without stopping!  :)  It wasn't super fast (just over thirty minutes) but I did it!  Hillary and I did it!!  First we did some weight training, then the treadmills, then some treadclimber thing that we super hate, then a mile on the recumbent bike.  Amazing and wonderful.  That's how it feels to be doing something!!  Signing up for our first 5k for next weekend, too!  :)

Lots of stuff to do today, like everyday, but I'm doing it.  I'm doing something, getting somewhere.

I do need to come up with costumes for Hillary's Halloween party this weekend.  Sadly, I've put on nearly 20 pounds since last Halloween so I can't wear any of my old costumes.  :(  It's nice to be healthy, it's nice to not be sick all the time, it's a miracle (literally) that I've only had one infection this year and have been healthy continuously for the last 9 months (for the first time EVER in my ENTIRE life!), but the weight gain is hard for me to accept.  I've never been at this weight not being pregnant.  I'm just a few pounds away from how much I weighed the day I gave birth to Adisson.  And it's a hard pill to swallow.  :(

But I'm doing something.  I'm working out.  I've been to the gym twice this week and while that may not be an incredible feat for some, it is for me.  And I love it!!

The energizer bunny has nothing on me.... :)

So, I'm working hard on getting laundry done. Oh my goodness.  Even for one night of camping, we have so much stuff that needs washed.  When I'm doing all the laundry, it makes me want to limit everyone to five outfits total! :)

We're really busy around here, at least I am anyway, and there's lots of things that need to be done this afternoon and evening.  We've got lots of school work to catch up on.  When Daddy is off work, we seem to get less done and he had a long weekend and yesterday I had an appointment that took all afternoon so we're pretty behind.  This afternoon we'll be catching up.

We've also got lots of cleaning to get done.  I feel like everyone wants to have a clean and tidy house, but I'm the one that supposed to do everything.  I get that, mostly.  I'm the mom, I should be running this ship.  But I'm also the meal planner, the grocery getter, the homeschool mom, the den leader, the soccer fan, the workout partner, the craft queen, the party planner, the toddler tamer, the bill payer, the budget buster, the husband supporter and the woman with an autoimmune disease.  I'm tired.  And I need help from the boys that live here.

Tonight will be a cleaning night since no one has Jiu-Jitsu, soccer, scouts, or anything else to keep us occupied.  Bedrooms and bathrooms will all be clean before everyone goes to bed.  I haven't told the boys that yet so I'm sure I'll be met with groans from all four of them when I break the news.  In the meantime, I have an hour to clean the basement...maybe I can get a room or two done before lunch and then school.

I hang out in a No Lunk Zone!

Yesterday we were so busy cleaning out the garage.  It gone done.  It also made me realize that I'm not sure if I can pack up our whole house and move it to Ohio when Adam leaves for a year.  We have A LOT of stuff, even though I feel like I'm constantly getting rid of things.

LAST WEEKS GOALS
Family/Mothering Goals
1.  Finish reading Mouse and the Motorcycle aloud to the boys.
2.  Work with the boys on how to correctly clean each of their bathrooms.
3.  Start our Veggie Tales devotional book.

Personal Goals:
4.  Exercise 15-20 minutes three times this week (this is my trying to implement a workout schedule by starting slowly!)
5.  Read How to be a Great Wife Even Though You Homeschool and Five Simple Ways to Grow a Great Family.
6.  Start working on Joyce's birthday present (her birthday was yesterday, but I won't be seeing her until later this month.  This is kind of a big project so I need to get started now).
7.  Work on two squares a day for the twins blankets (need 32 total).
8.  Get my toddler busy bag craft completed and mailed by 10/7.

Home Management Goals:
9.  Implement planned meal schedule everyday this week.
10.  Go through all four bedrooms to rid of unwanted items (donate to Goodwill).

Wow.  That was a bust.  :)  There are things on the list that I worked on, just didn't complete.  I'll try again.


THIS WEEK'S GOALS
Family/Mothering Goals:
1.  Finish The Mouse and the Motorcycle (we're only two chapters away from being done!)
2.  Continue Veggie Tales Devotional (went over VERY well last week!)
3.  Help the boys get their rooms decluttered and cleaned.


Personal Goals:
4.  Join Planet Fitness and work out three times this week (preferably with Hillary!)
5.  Finish reading How to be a Great Wife Even Though You Homeschool and Taming the Spirited Child.
6.  Be in bed every night BY midnight.


Crafting Goals:
7.  Finish up enough squares for one baby blanket this week (16 for each one).
8.  Start Joyce's gift.


Home Goals:
9.  Work on better meal planning and better meal implementation.
10.  Get all the laundry done (we were camping over the weekend, which means, several sets of sheets, sleeping bags, blankets and clothes all need washed...along with everything else that I would have to wash anyway).




In a good effort on my goals, last night Hillary and I joined Planet Fitness and worked out last night.  It was awesome!  We're also signing up to run a 5K in less than two weeks!!  Can't wait!


In the meantime, I've got to get things done today before my doctor's appointment this afternoon (to get enrolled in the army's special needs program, which my autoimmune disorder qualifies me for, something I should have done a YEAR ago!! :)

Whew...I'm exhausted.

We were so busy this weekend!  We headed to Gambrill State Park for some camping on Friday night.  We had such a great time, despite the FRIGID weather overnight, but I couldn't help but think that this was the last time the boys would be camping with their Dad for a long time.  It's sad to think we won't be able to go camping next year because there's no way I'm taking them by myself!  

We roasted hot dogs, made s'mores, had a fire (of course) and played around.  We got up early on Saturday morning to go to Adisson's soccer game.  My awesome friend Hillary and her family showed up to watch the game (seriously, one of the coolest things ever...I love it when people love my boys!).  Adisson played SO WELL!  He is a great defender and did really well helping out the goalie.  I feel bad that I was so nervous to put him in the older league because I was worried his skills wouldn't be on par with the other kids. I was wrong.  

We headed back out to the campsite for lunch and to hang out for a few hours.  Tore our site down.  Loaded everything into the van.  Came home, unloaded the van, reloaded the van with suitcases and toys, showered and headed to DC.  Went to pick up Adam's race packet, had dinner, checked in to the Hampton and got settled in before Adam's race.

He ran a great time today for the ATM.  Just over an hour, twenty seven minutes.  Placed in the top 25%.  It was sad that my Dad couldn't be there to run with him like last year, but he's off training up to be deployed.  :(  Between my Dad and Adam both being gone at the same time, I think I might have a meltdown next year. :)

We had a nice time in DC, had a really great weekend and Adam and I are tired and worn out!  The kids, however, are still going full speed ahead!  Tomorrow, we've got the very mundane, mind numbing task of cleaning out the garage.  Personally, I want everything to go, but that won't happen.  We'll see what I can get rid of between selling on craigslist, donating, and pawning off to my friends.  :)

I'll update my goal progress and my new goals for the week tomorrow.  :)

Where did I put that cape??

Only a little bit at a time.  That's how you get anywhere.  Well, that's how I get anywhere.

Before Adam's second tour to Iraq, I was on the phone with my Dad in complete despair.  How on earth can I do this again?  With TWO kids this time?  This was his third year of being gone in just under four years.  I couldn't believe we were doing this again.  AGAIN.  Dad told me that I can only eat an elephant one bite at a time.  I think it's his old age...eventually wisdom just has to catch up to you! :)  (I know it's not his own personal quote, but it didn't mean any less to me than if it were.)

But he's right.  I can't conquer the world in a day, rid my house of every worthless possession overnight, or deal with a yearlong absence of my husband quicker than one day at a time.  I can only do what I can do.

I'm not superwoman.  I'm not an overachiever.  Some days the only thing I can achieve is getting out of bed.

But I am strong enough.  I'm strong enough to do whatever I need to do.  As a wife, as a mother, and as the woman I'm hell bent on being.

So yes, I'm overwhelmed.  Yes, in some regards I may have possibly bitten off more than I can chew.  But at the end of the day, no one can love my boys like I do and if something needs done, for the sake of my children, for the sake of my family, for the sake of myself, I'll get it done.  Late, but I'll get it done.

So...off to find me an elephant.

Just a drop of water in an endless sea....

So tired.  Treatment went well today, even though my lovely idiotic doctor told me I need to stop gaining weight.  No kidding?!?  I certainly am not TRYING to gain weight.  It also makes me feel like I'm right when I look in the mirror and see a large person.  Ugh....anyway

Then there was soccer practice that ran so late we had to pull Adi off the field to make it to Scouts.  Then we get to Scouts and the ONE other family in our den didn't show up.

Sigh.

Also, I feel like no matter how very hard I'm trying to do better...at anything, at everything, it seriously isn't happening.  It's like I take so many steps forward and then several MILES backwards.  As far as I know right now, the boys and I will be moving into a MUCH smaller house in five months.  Which means I have to get rid of LOTS and LOTS of stuff.  But every time I enter a room, I just get overwhelmed with all of it and leave.  So nothing gets done.

I feel so overwhelmed, so exasperated and like I'm literally in the middle of the ocean, trying to keep my head above water.....and it's pulling me under faster than I can catch my breath.  How can finding peace and balance be such an exhausting journey?

Anyway, off to crochet...at least that will calm me down.  :)

My Weekly Goals....oh dear

Ok, so while I'm reading on the trek to a more minimalist lifestyle, I'm realizing that my time management is completely nonexistent.  I can be so organized and so very messy at the same time because I don't organize my time/schedule or plan my day out well.  I have the best intentions.... :)

So I'm reading on Money Saving Mom about her weekly goals.  She posts them, so I figured I'd do the same.  It's funny that I'm so random on this blog.  It's never something I intended for many people to read, just a way to keep in touch with family while I'm away and/or with Adam while he's not with us.  And I'm pretty sure my family is aware of my randomness and loves me anyway.  :)

My goals for this week are as follows:
(I'm following MSM's goal list set up but could definitely tweak it to my own needs if this doesn't work)

Family/Mothering Goals
1.  Finish reading Mouse and the Motorcycle aloud to the boys.
2.  Work with the boys on how to correctly clean each of their bathrooms.
3.  Start our Veggie Tales devotional book.

Personal Goals:
4.  Exercise 15-20 minutes three times this week (this is my trying to implement a workout schedule by starting slowly!)
5.  Read How to be a Great Wife Even Though You Homeschool and Five Simple Ways to Grow a Great Family.
6.  Start working on Joyce's birthday present (her birthday was yesterday, but I won't be seeing her until later this month.  This is kind of a big project so I need to get started now).
7.  Work on two squares a day for the twins blankets (need 32 total).
8.  Get my toddler busy bag craft completed and mailed by 10/7.

Home Management Goals:
9.  Implement planned meal schedule everyday this week.
10.  Go through all four bedrooms to rid of unwanted items (donate to Goodwill).

Sigh.  It seems lofty.  I sure hope having them in "writing" can help me get them done.  I'll keep you (Tiffany, Jessie Poo) updated!! :)