Sometimes you fall and have to climb back up again

I did so well for the first part of the holiday's then next thing I know Christmas has past and my tree is still up, my clutter is back, and I'm tired all the time again. Little by little the house got messy, then worse, and pretty soon it was a hoarders dream. Here it's now the end of February, the tree has fallen over but still in the living room, the office is packed with boxes and I'm ready to burn it to the ground.

Here's my goals for the next month
1. Boxes gone... Easier said than done, but that's what Mr. Mechanic is doing next week while I'm gone. He's throwing them out/donating them sight unseen so I don't have a chance to hoard items again.

2. Office completed... The start of which is to paint the walls. Straight white is not conducive to the blogging/working/slacking off environment. Looking around some home decorating books and blogs it seems I can narrow down my colors to blues, yellows, or greens. Blue stimulates the mind, but at the same time calms it. Yellow is great for those in a creative job (like me). Green is great for a balance of mind and body.
Next to complete the office is to create a work station. I want a flowing desk with lots of storage as well as book shelves. We started this by rearranging the office space and mapping out a better floor plan for usage. It's quite nice, just filled with boxes.
A new entertainment center for relaxing is a must in order to get rid of the bulky old tv we have in there now.
Lastly in this room we are creating a divider so that when we have a guest staying the night we no longer have to walk through the office to our room, it will be it's own separate space.

3. Get the garage cleared out... we have moments where it's almost usable in there and then it's not. This year we are taking back our home and working to create a small sustainable home in the event of emergency/zombie attacks. Our garage is actually being converted to food storage on one side and tools on the other. 

While all this is going on I'm working to get my yard ready for the season. Getting a fence and deck put in is step one of the summer yard renovation. Then I go from there. Lots of work to do but I can't wait for the wonderment I'll get from a job well done.

Cleaning up the Holiday's ~ It's getting there!

Slowly my home is becoming less cluttered and easier to manage. I finally got the hub of my tech support taken care of.Being able to get to my day planner is much easier now.

 Please disregard the countdown, I forgot it was there till I took this picture, it now has the correct date.

Now it's on to the rest of the organization of the office. I've already started on my Posh shelf and the printer area. Mr. Mechanic plans on building me a wall to wall desk and tv center as soon as we buy a new flat screen for the office. Right now we have an old RCA that weighs about as much as I do. When that goes in the new floor to ceiling book shelves won't be far behind and a false wall that will seal the office in it's self so it can be used as a spare bedroom not just the hallway to our room.

Out elf didn't do too many crazy things this last week and over the weekend didn't move since the kids were gone but here are a couple of pictures we took of the interesting things she's done so far.

Day 2 found Jingle Bell at the start of a snowless snowball fight. Good thing no one joined in.

Day 3 caught her hanging upside down from the Halloween lights we forgot to take down. OOOPS! That's ok because she got a front row seat to Tydan not doing his chores for the day.

Day 4 Jingle was very naughty and decided to open one of her Christmas presents. We cought her before she could see what it was.

Day 5 Jingle reenacted a scene from Brave Heart it seems.

Days 6 & 7 she hung out with the dogs in the bathroom while everyone was gone for the weekend.

 Day 8 she made an appearance to welcome the kids back

 This is where she stayed for Day 9 as the kids ignored her.

Day 10 dawned bright and early with Jingle and Barbie in the office, having a lengthy talk about cakes and cookies.

I can't imagine where Jingle will be later but with the Ugly Sweater Party coming up I'm pretty sure I'll find her doing naughty things.

Ready to have a Scrooge moment.

My weekend was wonderful, Mr. Mechanic and I went antiquing, ate out every day, had a wonderful night at a very cute B&B, even did a bit of Christmas shopping. But now it's back to reality and I'm ready to strike.
I had to work Sunday afternoon and it was slow and boring. Not one person came into the classroom for the event. Only to ask me where things were since it looked like I worked there. It wouldn't have been bad but I forgot a book, my phone, and my brain. Apparently it was my job to sell the cookie kits... Wait last I check this event was a Micheal's store event not a Wilton event therefore I didn't need to be there. It was ok, I got out an hour early and got to wait around for the hubby. He picks me up late because he had to once again bunny rangle thanks to a broken cage or two. UGH!!! We then did our Costco shopping and headed out to get the kids. I missed them but of course they hadn't miss me, I got more reactions out of my dogs then my children. So on the trip home my glorious quiet weekend was shattered by all the fighting in the back seat. It was enough to make me want to cry. We got home and Mr. Mechanic made breakfast burritos to get some of the leftovers from Thanksgiving used up. Our elf didn't move all weekend, neither did the advent calendars so that was taken care of. I quickly boxed up Daytona's gift to wrap later. After dinner and some TV we called it a night and I slept like a rock. Now it's time to start my day and get the house tip top party ready.

Cleaning up the Holiday's ~ Weeks 6-8 - Do what works for you

Did you barely make it through Black Friday? I did great as long as I didn't go for big items. I hit up Kohl's for some pans and glasses. Got Daytona a doll she'd been asking for (wishing I bought more of them of course) Then I spent Friday shopping with the monsters and lunch with the in-laws. It was surprisingly nice. Only 2 stores crowed and not worth the time in line for what little I bought. I was able to get some new movies for the family. The monsters picked out a new Swap Force Skylander, and a few gifts for each other. I'm not going to lie, my house didn't get cleaned till late Sunday night. I had no excuse I just spent time with the family instead. And since I didn't do my 15 minute pick up each day my home started sliding back. I'll be spending time in each room to clean as I decorate for Christmas. Maybe I'll be able to find a space to put my tree this year.
We did start our Advent Calendars as well as our Elf on a Shelf. Today we will make our Christmas lists thanks to the folks over at made by Memilyrae. We love using their Christmas wish list print out. 

(right click and save as)

And we have our newest friend Jingle Bell.

 I'm thinking this Year's Christmas Card with how creepy she is LOL. Well that's it for now. I'm off to glamorously clean my house and decorate. Till tomorrow ;)

Bring on the holidays!

As I take time to prepare my home and menu for tomorrow, I take a moment to say am so happy and grateful for all the things that I have in my life. While I don't always take time out to publicly announce them and most days I'm lamenting about all the bad things that happen in it. I really do love my life and all who share it with me. I love the fact that in one week I will be celebrating 10 glorious up and down filled years with my best friend, the love of my life Mr. Mechanic. Followed by his birthday, Christmas, and a major milestone in my children's lives, the big 13th birthday for my oldest.

I have come a long way in my life, a large part of that is my husband who has been my rock when others say I can't he has helped me prove them wrong. Even when I doubt myself he has been my loudest cheerleader. My children have been the driving force in my life to be better than my parents and to take time out to smell the roses.

This year we are bringing in some new traditions and trying new things.
- I bought our first Elf on a Shelf and hope the kids love it even though they don't really believe in Santa anymore. I will try to keep up with pictures of all the stuff she's does.
- We're going to take time to enjoy a few Christmas light shows and tree ceremonies we haven't before.
- Mr. Mechanic and I are finally having our 'honeymoon'. A weekend with no kids or work antiquing and spending time at a local B&B.
- Cutting our own tree (hopefully)
- I was even given the green light to decorate the yard this year with large light up statues. I found R2D2 so of course he said yes LOL.

Now it's time for me to make some pies and watch some movies with the kids.

Cleaning up the Holiday's ~ Week 5 Extra Rooms or Extra care.

This post is going to encompass the whole week. Week 5 is all about the extras that you may need. Extra rooms to get ready, office, your yard, extra time in a room already covered.

What do you need extra help with? I need extra time in my bedroom and office. I am so proud of my kids trying hard to keep the house in tip top shape. Even then we have a long way to go. I'm not proud to say it but some rooms in my house looks like an episode or hoarders light LOL.

I will also be getting my decorating on. I didn't get my Thanksgiving decor up this year since we hadn't planned on having people over for Thanksgiving, first year in my entire life. I wasn't planning on having or making dinner, and then Mr Mechanic said "Honey, I want to make a big dinner even if it's just us." While he's making dinner I will be taking stock of the Christmas decorations and possibly putting some up. Biggest decoration I can't wait to find, our tree. We're crossing our fingers to cut our own in a few weeks.

So I'm off to finish up my cupcakes for tomorrow and get a good nights sleep. Because tomorrow the cooking countdown begins.

Cleaning up the Holiday's ~ Week 4, Day 4 - 7 - Coming along nicely

Though I posted the cleaning in one day you do not need to clean all day long. For me I'm spreading it out over the week, along with my other room routines. Each room gets 15 minutes to clean during school from me and 15 minutes from the kids after school. It's slow going but pretty soon my home will be ready for the holiday parties that always take over my life starting Thanksgiving. Now I know your home won't be fully caught up by then unless you speed through and clean a room a day, which by then you will totally burned out. I suggest the fake it till you make it.  It's not a great way to get things done but in a pinch it will do if guests are coming to your home for dinner. Clear off the main surfaces and spot clean the high traffic areas.
If you are lucky enough not to have people over for Thanksgiving just continue to follow your routine as normal and don't try to complete everything. It's great advise for both scenarios anyways. Remember your home didn't get dirty in a day it won't be cleaned in a day.

Try doing something fun between cleaning. Play a board game and add a prize, say winner gets the next day off from chores or gets to pick dinner. Put your favorite boogie music on and dance as you clean, burn extra cookie calories. Decorate rooms as you go. Do anything that can break up cleaning time. I like things that keep me active or spending family time away from the electronics. Especially now that I've been house bound all day long due to snow and icy roads. Well I'm off to do my routine and then to brave the streets for some much needed shopping.