Before:
And....after:
Isn't she pretty?
Saturday, November 20, 2010
I'm such a tease!
Okay...I have about 2 seconds to post this before I MUST get in the shower and get ready for the game [GO STATE] so it is only going to be a sneak preview. I'll post the entire story tomorrow!
Before:
And....after:
Isn't she pretty?
Before:
And....after:
Isn't she pretty?
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Need a little help from my friends!
Happy Saturday Peeps! Can you feel it? Winter is in the air!
You know, I thought I'd have all of this extra time on my hands now that I'm not working full time. Wrong-O Joe! This week was crazy busy and went by in a flash! By the end of the week it was cold and wet and I found myself not wanting to leave the house at all!
I had another one of those weeks where I felt like I got a lot done, yet my house looks like a tornado hit it! It didn't help that on Thursday Paul decided to clean our dryer by taking the vacuum/leaf blower to it. Here's this thing. I ADORE that my husband takes initiative on stuff like this because, well, frankly....I don't. But sometimes it backfires and this was one of those times. After some blood, sweat & tears (mostly by Paul) we decided that the dryer has died. The cause of death is unknown except that it was working fine pre-leaf blower treatment, but now doesn't so much as try to turn on. I'm sure someone out there knows how to fix it (and its probably a $2 part) but we decided to take the $100 to have someone come look at it and apply it to a new set. We got a great deal at Home Depot, so on Wednesday we will be the proud owners of a new washer and dryer! And...in accurate reflection of the nearly reverse roles in our home...Paul is MUCH more excited about it than I am! I do love that man!
But...our dryer saga is not what this blog is about. I know I have a lot of work from home/stay at home mommies thatread my blog are friends on Facebook where I will link this blog and I need some advice.
What do you do with a very active 3 year old boy for 8 hours/day?
Seriously. I don't know!
Here's the thing. I had the whole "working outside the home 8 hours a day, Mommy" thing down. We had schedules and rules and some rules we bent because we were too tired and didn't have enough time with the kids anyhow. I (sorta) knew what I was doing in that realm.
But, this staying home thing has me sputtering!
This was our first week home and I had decided to treat this one a bit like I would a vacation week. We hung out, watched some movies, ran some errands and had very little structure. Obviously, moving forward, I don't want him spending all day watching SpongeBob and Alvin & the Chipmunks while I clean/paint/organize, etc. I need to learn how to balance getting stuff done around the house and spending some QT with my little man. Now that I'm not working outside of the home I feel a lot more pressure for the house to be clean and organized and for Brock to be learning and doing creative things like he did at daycare.
Wow, this is really a rambling post, isn't it? Sorry for that! If any of you have any advice on schedules, activities, ideas on how to balance working from home with being a stay at home mom, I would LOVE it! I know we will find what works for us but I would love to hear what has worked for you!
For the record, I tried desperately to combine reading, art, creativity and computer lessons by having him spend yesterday morning reading DIY Blogs with me. Yeah. Didn't work!
Its going to be a cold, wet day and we are looking forward to a relaxing one! I have a 1 1/2 hour kickboxing class this morning (that I need desperately!) and Mikki's daughter Kaleigh is coming to spend the night with us (this kids are coming out of their skin with excitement...apparently she's cool and I'm not!) and Maycen has dance...but other than that it will be a day of movies, football, food and cuddling!
Have a great weekend everyone!
And...of course...GO CYCLONES! Big game today after the heart breaker last week (that I'm still not ready to talk about).
You know, I thought I'd have all of this extra time on my hands now that I'm not working full time. Wrong-O Joe! This week was crazy busy and went by in a flash! By the end of the week it was cold and wet and I found myself not wanting to leave the house at all!
I had another one of those weeks where I felt like I got a lot done, yet my house looks like a tornado hit it! It didn't help that on Thursday Paul decided to clean our dryer by taking the vacuum/leaf blower to it. Here's this thing. I ADORE that my husband takes initiative on stuff like this because, well, frankly....I don't. But sometimes it backfires and this was one of those times. After some blood, sweat & tears (mostly by Paul) we decided that the dryer has died. The cause of death is unknown except that it was working fine pre-leaf blower treatment, but now doesn't so much as try to turn on. I'm sure someone out there knows how to fix it (and its probably a $2 part) but we decided to take the $100 to have someone come look at it and apply it to a new set. We got a great deal at Home Depot, so on Wednesday we will be the proud owners of a new washer and dryer! And...in accurate reflection of the nearly reverse roles in our home...Paul is MUCH more excited about it than I am! I do love that man!
But...our dryer saga is not what this blog is about. I know I have a lot of work from home/stay at home mommies that
What do you do with a very active 3 year old boy for 8 hours/day?
Seriously. I don't know!
Here's the thing. I had the whole "working outside the home 8 hours a day, Mommy" thing down. We had schedules and rules and some rules we bent because we were too tired and didn't have enough time with the kids anyhow. I (sorta) knew what I was doing in that realm.
But, this staying home thing has me sputtering!
This was our first week home and I had decided to treat this one a bit like I would a vacation week. We hung out, watched some movies, ran some errands and had very little structure. Obviously, moving forward, I don't want him spending all day watching SpongeBob and Alvin & the Chipmunks while I clean/paint/organize, etc. I need to learn how to balance getting stuff done around the house and spending some QT with my little man. Now that I'm not working outside of the home I feel a lot more pressure for the house to be clean and organized and for Brock to be learning and doing creative things like he did at daycare.
Wow, this is really a rambling post, isn't it? Sorry for that! If any of you have any advice on schedules, activities, ideas on how to balance working from home with being a stay at home mom, I would LOVE it! I know we will find what works for us but I would love to hear what has worked for you!
For the record, I tried desperately to combine reading, art, creativity and computer lessons by having him spend yesterday morning reading DIY Blogs with me. Yeah. Didn't work!
Its going to be a cold, wet day and we are looking forward to a relaxing one! I have a 1 1/2 hour kickboxing class this morning (that I need desperately!) and Mikki's daughter Kaleigh is coming to spend the night with us (this kids are coming out of their skin with excitement...apparently she's cool and I'm not!) and Maycen has dance...but other than that it will be a day of movies, football, food and cuddling!
Have a great weekend everyone!
And...of course...GO CYCLONES! Big game today after the heart breaker last week (that I'm still not ready to talk about).
Monday, November 8, 2010
Week(end) Recap & Meal Planning Monday!
Wow. Its only been a week since my last blog, but it feels like much longer!
Last week was crazy with a capital 'C' around the Johnson house. It was my first week of unemployment but Paul was out of town Sunday through Friday and Brock was still in FT daycare, so it seemed more like a week of vacation! Do you ever have those days or weeks where you feel like you got a lot done yet, when you look around, it seems like NOTHING got done. Yeah...that's how it felt! I finished a big DIY project that I had been working on (pictures soon!) for a while, got myhome office corner of the basement set up to be more conducive to working from home and cleaned out the kids closets. BUT, the house didn't get a good cleaning, only half of the laundry got done and my car still looks like I live in it. Oh well, there's always this week, right? Right.
The kids and I were very happy to have Paul home on Friday afternoon! We even snuck in a little "date" of dinner & drinks with some good friends. It was much needed adult time for me after being home alone with the kids all week!
The weekend was a good one, if not heartbreaking. Paul decided to skip the ISU/NU game on Saturday to stay home with the kids, so I headed up to Ames with my dad & Jackie. I'm not ready to actually talk about the game yet...its still too painful. I will say that I am very excited about the things that are happening in Ames and think that the Cyclones football team is in good hands!
Paul had to go back to work on Sunday and apparently nobody informed my kiddos that when we 'fall' back in time, we get to sleep in an extra hour, so we were up bright and early! Maycen had dance and a birthday party in the afternoon so Brock and I ran some errands. When Paul got home from work we headed to Grandma & Grandpa Johnson's house for what may be the last "cookout" of the year before the snow flies! It was a nice way to end the weekend, and I'm pretty sure I ate my weight in Sally's potato bake!
This is the first week of Brock going to daycare only on Mondays and being home with me the rest of the week. It will be an interesting and exciting change! #1 on our To-Do list is potty training. Wish me luck!
Meal Planning Monday:
Monday: Not sure yet (this 'plan isn't off to a very good start). I teach KB at 5:30 so we might just wing it!
Tuesday: Steaks, veggies & potatoes on the grill.
Wednesday: Breakfast for dinner!
Thursday: Some kind of soup...not sure yet.
Friday: Homemade pizza.
Saturday: Sloppy Joe Casserole. Shell pasta, hamburger, spaghetti sauce, cottage cheese in a casserole w/ colby jack shredded cheese on top. Easy peasy!
Sunday: Beef & noodles.
I'm hoping to update you on all of my projects this week! Happy Monday folks! Enjoy these last 2 or 3 days of sunshine and nice temps...I hear there is a chance of flurries next week!
Last week was crazy with a capital 'C' around the Johnson house. It was my first week of unemployment but Paul was out of town Sunday through Friday and Brock was still in FT daycare, so it seemed more like a week of vacation! Do you ever have those days or weeks where you feel like you got a lot done yet, when you look around, it seems like NOTHING got done. Yeah...that's how it felt! I finished a big DIY project that I had been working on (pictures soon!) for a while, got my
The kids and I were very happy to have Paul home on Friday afternoon! We even snuck in a little "date" of dinner & drinks with some good friends. It was much needed adult time for me after being home alone with the kids all week!
The weekend was a good one, if not heartbreaking. Paul decided to skip the ISU/NU game on Saturday to stay home with the kids, so I headed up to Ames with my dad & Jackie. I'm not ready to actually talk about the game yet...its still too painful. I will say that I am very excited about the things that are happening in Ames and think that the Cyclones football team is in good hands!
Paul had to go back to work on Sunday and apparently nobody informed my kiddos that when we 'fall' back in time, we get to sleep in an extra hour, so we were up bright and early! Maycen had dance and a birthday party in the afternoon so Brock and I ran some errands. When Paul got home from work we headed to Grandma & Grandpa Johnson's house for what may be the last "cookout" of the year before the snow flies! It was a nice way to end the weekend, and I'm pretty sure I ate my weight in Sally's potato bake!
This is the first week of Brock going to daycare only on Mondays and being home with me the rest of the week. It will be an interesting and exciting change! #1 on our To-Do list is potty training. Wish me luck!
Meal Planning Monday:
Monday: Not sure yet (this 'plan isn't off to a very good start). I teach KB at 5:30 so we might just wing it!
Tuesday: Steaks, veggies & potatoes on the grill.
Wednesday: Breakfast for dinner!
Thursday: Some kind of soup...not sure yet.
Friday: Homemade pizza.
Saturday: Sloppy Joe Casserole. Shell pasta, hamburger, spaghetti sauce, cottage cheese in a casserole w/ colby jack shredded cheese on top. Easy peasy!
Sunday: Beef & noodles.
I'm hoping to update you on all of my projects this week! Happy Monday folks! Enjoy these last 2 or 3 days of sunshine and nice temps...I hear there is a chance of flurries next week!
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