Yesterday I felt like a failure in my P31W venture. I did no laundry, no cleaning, no dishes, I didn't even do much playing with the kids (unless of course you count taking them to Chick-Fil-A). I spent most of my day on the computer; car shopping, on fb and pinterest.
However, I know that my family is still happier than one month ago. The purpose of this journey was to challenge myself, which I did. I memorized half of the scripture I set out to. Meditated and thought about it all. Maybe someday I will write a Bible study on all of the things I learned so others can learn from them too.
I can honestly say that my husband and I are closer now than we have been since he deployed. My children are happier, especially the 5 year old. She cherishes her "mommy time." The baby boy loves when I sit on the floor playing with him. Yesterday, I took time to play with him on the floor, and like any 1 year old, he walked off to play in another room; but when he finally came back to where I was waiting, he dove in and gave me a HUGE hug. It was sooo sweet, and kind of slobbery. :)
My house is so much better too. The bathrooms have been cleaner than when we lived in the apartment. Our kitchen counter has seen daylight nearly everyday (which wasn't a norm). In fact, I have arrived at a place where I am almost OCD about getting the dishes done (almost). The laundry is kept up, in fact so much so, sometimes there isn't room in the drawers for all of it.
Thanks again for all the support and encouragement. It will be interesting to see how I continue this journey in the future. Maybe a repeat once I get used to working full-time again.
Until next time,
Erin
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Helping others
Well, lets just say hump week ended with a big flop (where the house and chores are concerned). However, that being said, I spent Friday being a blessing to someone in need. Saturday was the wedding of my daughter's teacher's daughter. Well, on Thursday morning when I was picking my dd (darling daughter) up from school, her teacher mentioned that they were still in need of table cloths, and she didn't know what she was going to do for center pieces. Well, I thought about it that afternoon, and looked around while grocery shopping, but didn't find anything too exciting, but I knew Friday was available to help if necessary. So, when I dropped off my dd on Friday, I asked her teacher if she still needed center pieces for the wedding. With a somewhat stressed answer, she said yes. So, I told her not to worry, I would have something for her ready to go by 11:15, when I come to pick up dd from school.
After running around all morning with a friend and ds (darling son) in tow, who by the way was a trooper, we finally found something that would work. We went back home and with the magic of hot glue, ribbon, and some left over shells from an old project we came up with something that would work. We had one more stop before we could drop them off to the mother of the bride, and then we were done. We arrived at 2:30 with finished centerpieces, a tired & hungry boy, and a very happy mom. After dropping my friend off back at her home, I arrived home around 4:00pm. DS was exhausted! He had only had 1 hour of rest since 7:30 am, and his bfast and lunch consisted of crackers, cheese stick, chicken, and yogurt. Called hubby to pick up pizza, and began work on wedding present for the next day.
I believe that my actions Friday were warranted, even though the house took a beating from it. The Prov. 31 woman gave "a portion to her maidens." Which for me means she cared about others. The P31W also:
Prov. 31:20 She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy.
This mother wasn't poor, but she was needy. She was working all day, and the rehearsal was at 5:00pm, there was no time for her to run around and find something. It took me 3 hours just to find the right items, and another 2 to modify it. The key in a situation like this is to not make it the normal everyday occurrence. Be willing to help, but not to the neglect of your family.
Until next time,
Erin
After running around all morning with a friend and ds (darling son) in tow, who by the way was a trooper, we finally found something that would work. We went back home and with the magic of hot glue, ribbon, and some left over shells from an old project we came up with something that would work. We had one more stop before we could drop them off to the mother of the bride, and then we were done. We arrived at 2:30 with finished centerpieces, a tired & hungry boy, and a very happy mom. After dropping my friend off back at her home, I arrived home around 4:00pm. DS was exhausted! He had only had 1 hour of rest since 7:30 am, and his bfast and lunch consisted of crackers, cheese stick, chicken, and yogurt. Called hubby to pick up pizza, and began work on wedding present for the next day.
I believe that my actions Friday were warranted, even though the house took a beating from it. The Prov. 31 woman gave "a portion to her maidens." Which for me means she cared about others. The P31W also:
Prov. 31:20 She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy.
This mother wasn't poor, but she was needy. She was working all day, and the rehearsal was at 5:00pm, there was no time for her to run around and find something. It took me 3 hours just to find the right items, and another 2 to modify it. The key in a situation like this is to not make it the normal everyday occurrence. Be willing to help, but not to the neglect of your family.
Until next time,
Erin
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Hump Week
So we all know what Hump day is, Wednesday, once that day is past, the weekend is in sight. Well, this week is Hump Week. I am half way through this experience, and I have to say, Hump Week is testing me.
My week so far:
Monday: Cleaned bathrooms as scheduled. Even washed the shower curtain liner and hooks! Did required 2-3 loads of laundry. Kept up with the Dishes.
Tuesday: Only cleaned master bedroom...didn't vacuum or dust, but the sheets were cleaned. Only did 1 load of laundry. Dishes were still kept up. Worked on couponing, only to not be able to go to the store I needed to before the sale ad ran out. (Oh Well).
Wednesday: Dishes were kept up. Didn't clean the kitchen (floors, dusting, clutter control). Only ran 1 load of laundry-did fold and put away. Worked on some projects. Went grocery shopping with both kids during their lunch time (I love lunchables for this). Stayed home from church, because little man had a low grade fever.
Today: Couponing, Shopping with the kids during lunch again, Kids bedrooms, dishes, laundry catch up. (Wish me luck).
Friday: Floors (vac, sweep, mop), more dishes, more laundry, and I really need to dust the whole house....(we will see if that gets done or not).
I am still working on Prov. 31:15-17. So, thankfully I am still on schedule there. I don't have them memorized, but I am getting close.
I have not been motivated this week to do much. I would much rather skip the cleaning this week, and just sit around and do nothing. However, Proverbs 31:13 says that she works "willing with her hands." SO I need to get up and get going.
Until next time.
~Erin
Friday, May 11, 2012
Day 11
Today is the 11th day. Things haven't gone completely as planned, however they are going better than before. I have been working on Prov. 31:10-31. So far I have memorized 5 verses, I guess I need to step it up a little in that department. I have been able to keep up the cleaning fairly well. Most days I have been able to set aside time to play with the kids. The one area that I haven't done well in at all is the exercising.
While memorizing the Proverbs 31 passage, I have been analyzing what each verse is about. I notice that the emphasis of Proverbs 31 begins with the Husband/Wife relationship. He must trust in her, and she must not do him evil. Next it moves on to the actions of the wife. She uses self control to provide for her family, to bring food, to work hard, to be strong, etc.
So over the next few days, I am going to work on being more in control of my actions, and of my daily schedule.
Until Next Time,
Erin
While memorizing the Proverbs 31 passage, I have been analyzing what each verse is about. I notice that the emphasis of Proverbs 31 begins with the Husband/Wife relationship. He must trust in her, and she must not do him evil. Next it moves on to the actions of the wife. She uses self control to provide for her family, to bring food, to work hard, to be strong, etc.
So over the next few days, I am going to work on being more in control of my actions, and of my daily schedule.
Until Next Time,
Erin
Thursday, May 3, 2012
Day 2&3
Proverbs 31:11 & 12~ The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he hath no need of spoil. She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life.
The verses for days 2 & 3, remind me of why I am doing this challenge. My husband is a wonderful man. He is truly my best friend. According to dictionary.com trust is reliance on the integrity, strength, ability, surety, etc., of a person or thing; confidence.
Last night, I asked my husband if I have fulfilled Prov. 31:11 for him as a wife, he said yes. No hesitation in his voice. He said that especially the last few weeks since I started keeping the house up better. Realizing that my effort to keep the house better, and do more for the family has touched my husband so completely, is amazing.
He relies on me, he has confidence in me, he trusts me. He loves me, he has no reason to look anywhere else to fulfill any of his needs. As a wife, it is the greatest honor to know that I please my husband, my best friend.
Keep strong, until tomorrow,
Erin
The verses for days 2 & 3, remind me of why I am doing this challenge. My husband is a wonderful man. He is truly my best friend. According to dictionary.com trust is reliance on the integrity, strength, ability, surety, etc., of a person or thing; confidence.
Last night, I asked my husband if I have fulfilled Prov. 31:11 for him as a wife, he said yes. No hesitation in his voice. He said that especially the last few weeks since I started keeping the house up better. Realizing that my effort to keep the house better, and do more for the family has touched my husband so completely, is amazing.
He relies on me, he has confidence in me, he trusts me. He loves me, he has no reason to look anywhere else to fulfill any of his needs. As a wife, it is the greatest honor to know that I please my husband, my best friend.
Keep strong, until tomorrow,
Erin
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Day 1-Making it work
After getting the schedule together, the next step is to make it work. Actually go through with with the plan. Yesterday, I did a trial schedule run to see how it would go, and I was pleased with everything I was able to accomplish. Thoroughly cleaned master bath and hall bath, vacuumed. I also managed to get 3 loads of laundry washed, folded and put away. Went for a job interview. Played with the kids. We even had guests for dinner. The dishes are so caught up, that I didn't have to run the dishwasher tonight! Gotta love that one!
Today went really well, I am ahead of the game for memorizing Prov. 31:10-31, b/c verse 10 was a familiar verse. Last night, Hubby and I spent some quality fun time together after the kids were in bed, with NO TV. Tonight, we have enjoyed watching some TV together while finishing folding the laundry from today.
At one point today I got very tired, but a cup of coffee, and I was fine. I even spent a large amount of time working on some small projects. The only thing that I haven't been able to achieve is squeezing some exercise in. However, I did pull around a 22 lb toddler, and a 67 lb dog in a wagon, so I did get a little exercise.
I am excited to see if I will be able to keep this up, and increase my ability to keep it all going...
Until tomorrow,
Erin
Proverbs 31:10~Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.
Today went really well, I am ahead of the game for memorizing Prov. 31:10-31, b/c verse 10 was a familiar verse. Last night, Hubby and I spent some quality fun time together after the kids were in bed, with NO TV. Tonight, we have enjoyed watching some TV together while finishing folding the laundry from today.
At one point today I got very tired, but a cup of coffee, and I was fine. I even spent a large amount of time working on some small projects. The only thing that I haven't been able to achieve is squeezing some exercise in. However, I did pull around a 22 lb toddler, and a 67 lb dog in a wagon, so I did get a little exercise.
I am excited to see if I will be able to keep this up, and increase my ability to keep it all going...
Until tomorrow,
Erin
Proverbs 31:10~Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.
Saturday, April 28, 2012
Keeping it Real
Ok, so I am sure that some of you wonder how I am going to achieve all this. Well, honestly I know that I am human, and life happens. Therefore, I also know that I will have days where everything might fall apart around me, and the schedule will be a wreck. However, that is not the point of this challenge. The point is to create new habits or revive lost habits within myself.
I remember being a very meticulous person when it came to the appearance of my bedroom, post 4th grade. I say post 4th grade, b/c before that time, I shared a room with my sister, and yes we had a disaster of a room at times. However, I also remember many times that I would clean my stuff up, then I would try and section off the room in two halves using string, tape, clothing, chairs, what ever I could find. Generally the split room thing wouldn't last long, b/c someone would need to get to the closet, or to bed, or just needed to get by, so I would have to take it down. However, once we had our own room, my room generally was kept very neat and organized. I did have few spots in the room that would also have issues, but hey we all have junk drawers. Even in middle and high school I kept an amazingly clean locker, book bag, etc. In college, minus the "junk drawer," I would keep a very neat and organized room. After my husband and I married, it was easy to keep a 600 sq ft. studio clean. There wasn't much to tidy up, there were no kids, and we only had one bathroom. We didn't have a washer/dryer hook-up, so laundry day was every Saturday, and since we only had one couch, the laundry couldn't easily sit around for long. 5 loads of laundry takes up tons of space. So we generally folded and put it all away in one day.
So, what happened? Inside, I am still meticulous, I just haven't been exerting the self-control to get it done. We have two kids now, which means we have double the dishes, double the house, and double the laundry. Unfortunately, I have let things get in the way from me keeping up with it. Our house isn't huge, and it doesn't take all that long to clean. I just don't do what I should.
So, how am I going to keep it real? First, I will not fret if it doesn't get done. Second, I will only schedule and plan what I think is attainable, Last, I will trust in the Lord to help me get it done.
Until Monday,
~Erin
Sunday is a day of rest, so I will not blog on Sundays.. God bless you and your family as you seek Him in all things!
I remember being a very meticulous person when it came to the appearance of my bedroom, post 4th grade. I say post 4th grade, b/c before that time, I shared a room with my sister, and yes we had a disaster of a room at times. However, I also remember many times that I would clean my stuff up, then I would try and section off the room in two halves using string, tape, clothing, chairs, what ever I could find. Generally the split room thing wouldn't last long, b/c someone would need to get to the closet, or to bed, or just needed to get by, so I would have to take it down. However, once we had our own room, my room generally was kept very neat and organized. I did have few spots in the room that would also have issues, but hey we all have junk drawers. Even in middle and high school I kept an amazingly clean locker, book bag, etc. In college, minus the "junk drawer," I would keep a very neat and organized room. After my husband and I married, it was easy to keep a 600 sq ft. studio clean. There wasn't much to tidy up, there were no kids, and we only had one bathroom. We didn't have a washer/dryer hook-up, so laundry day was every Saturday, and since we only had one couch, the laundry couldn't easily sit around for long. 5 loads of laundry takes up tons of space. So we generally folded and put it all away in one day.
So, what happened? Inside, I am still meticulous, I just haven't been exerting the self-control to get it done. We have two kids now, which means we have double the dishes, double the house, and double the laundry. Unfortunately, I have let things get in the way from me keeping up with it. Our house isn't huge, and it doesn't take all that long to clean. I just don't do what I should.
So, how am I going to keep it real? First, I will not fret if it doesn't get done. Second, I will only schedule and plan what I think is attainable, Last, I will trust in the Lord to help me get it done.
Proverbs 3:5-6
King James Version (KJV)
5Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
6In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
~Erin
Sunday is a day of rest, so I will not blog on Sundays.. God bless you and your family as you seek Him in all things!
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