One month later...a 95% Motivated Mom! LOL

Well, as of yesterday, I have been on my new housework organizer one month from motivatedmoms.com. And, I think I can easily say EVERYONE around the Viking Hus is really enjoying the fruits of our labors.

The dishes are being kept up with; the laundry is done regularly, too. The kitchen floor has been mopped more often in the last 30 days than ever before. The bathroom is cleaner than any time since we've moved in this house. And, the kids rooms have stayed clean for....wait for it...THREE weeks straight!

The biggest adjustments have been (1) finding a solid block of time and (2) breaking the pattern of addiction with my to-do list. LOL

I find that if I can get 30-40 minutes uninterrupted, I can knock out 90% of the planner's list. Most times that is immediately after I drop Flicka off at school and return home, but not always.

And, I guess I'm starting small with the second issue. LOL I've learned to start saying "no" and "enough" to myself. For example, I majorly fell off the housework wagon the last week and went back to "survival level" maintenance tasks. Due to DaHubby's finals and graduation along with celebratory dinners, graduation party, our wedding anniversary, and the fact we're leaving for a road trip in less than 12 hours, things have been a little off kilter on the to-do list to say the least.

But, just like I've found this lovely button on Google Reader labeled "mark all as read" which I've learned to click without TOO much hesitation when I have 200+ blog posts sitting waiting to be read, I've found the ability to look at my to-do list and just say "this can wait" or "this doesn't need to be done now" or, better yet, "this doesn't need to be done EVER" with relatively little remorse.

I drop nearly a dozen things over the last 4-6 days. *gasp* Did the world come to an end? Did DaHubby pick up and leave because I didn't sweep the porch on the day the housework list told me to? NO! I needed to remember that *I* am in charge of the to-do list and not the other way around. LOL

So, after we get back from our little jog across the state, I'll start the new sheet for Monday. Until then? I'm going complete to-do list free (well, nearly LOL) for the remainder of the weekend!

If you are looking for a housework planner and you haven't found one that fits yet, I would highly recommend motivatedmoms.com

Pottery, Willow, or Leather? Huh?

Three thousand, two hundred, and eighty-seven days.

That's how long DaHubby and I have been married today. In some ways, it's seems like yesterday. And, in others, my single life seems like EONS ago. LOL

But, as I considered what to write in praise of my wonderful partner-in-crime this week, my attention fell more than once this week to a little wall plaque in my kitchen. This wooden heart hung on the wall in my apartment when we were engaged and in each house we've lived in since we were married.

While we were a-courtin', DaHubby made this heart for me to remember the promises he would make at our wedding and would keep in the years ahead. Some of what he wrote...

"Beth, I promise you the following things...

My love for you will never be compromised by anything in or of this world...

My love for you makes me smile all day long, even when the storm threatens to sink my ship. I can always count on knowing that there is someone out there who feels the same way that I do.

My love for you will always give you my honesty, wit, heart, mind, and soul to make you happy and whole.

My love will always support you in any of your dreams and goals.

My love for you will always make you number ONE in my life.

You see, honey, I will be honored to give you my hand, heart, and soul in marriage; to always put you up on a pedestal where you belong. I love you and I always will..."

*happy sigh* What girl wouldn't sign up for a marriage like that? LOL

And, he has kept these promises through thick and thin...

Through infertility, surgeries, procedures, miscarriages, and heartbreaks...
Through every time I questioned myself, he stood beside me...
Through multiple pregnancies, he's kept me calm and walked beside my overanxious self .
Through deaths in both our families that have shook us hard, we've walked hand-in-hand .
Through blockages I've put up before me, he's challenged me, coaxed me, and occasionally pushed me. LOL
We've fought hard to get on the same page with our finances.
We battled next to each other through the last 2 1/2 years of life upheaval while he completed his schooling to grab for us a more secure future.

When I look back at what God's brought us through the last nine years, I stand in awe. Without Him, we never would have made it. Ours is truly a marriage of three: DaHubby, God, and me.

Happy 9th anniversary, my love. You are the answer to all my little girl hopes, my teenager dreams, my single girl imaginations! I love you.

Tuesday Tip Jar

This is a quick and easy tip that keeps my purse (somewhat) cleaner...

In the interest of child and parent sanity, I've carried crayons in my purse for those unexpected down times mommas often find themselves with as long as I can remember. But, I hated the way they left "goobers" all over the bottom of my purse. Even when I kept them in a Ziplock-style bag, it wasn't a perfect solution.

I don't remember where I saw this but have been so thankful I did.

Ya know those mini M&M plastic tube containers in the candy aisle? Pop for one (or more depending on how many little ones you need to entertain), eat the candy, and VOILA! Instant perfect 6 crayon holder!

Crayons contained and (mostly) unbroken - a momma idea that works for me!

As an added benefit, I also keep my iPod earbuds in another so I have them with me (and, more importantly, have them UNTANGLED) whenever I head to the YMCA!

For more TTJ, stop by Blogmommas today!