Wreath

One of my cousins is getting married in a few weeks and yesterday was her wedding shower.  Because we've all become obsessed with Pinterest, I've been browsing around for inspiration.  I took inspiration from several different pins (twine wrapped letter, monogram wreath) and came up with this cool grapevine wreath.  It's super easy to make and looks so cute! 

All you need:
a grapevine wreath (mine was 18")
jute twine
a wooden letter (I got mine at Hobby Lobby)
hot glue
silk flower for decoration

Wrap the wooden letter with the twine.  Use hot glue as necessary to tack the twine to the letter and get the desired wrapped effect.  Determine placement of the letter on the wreath.  Hot glue to the wreath.  Decorate with flower. DONE!  (See, I told you it was easy!!)  The flower that I found is actually a decorative clip, so it can be easily switched out for the season.

Days 14-17

Last week was a tough one for me.  I'm trying not to dwell on how hard it was and how much I didn't get done and just move forward.  Day 14 was about finding your "jazzy" - something that makes you come alive.  I'll admit that this is something that I think is lacking in my own personal life.  Without feeling too sorry for myself I've started to realize that I don't really have anything that is just mine.  I love my boys and I love doing things as a family, but I'm starting to realize that I don't have anything to do to take a break.  I'm trying to figure out what I can do to start to remedy this problem.  I need to consciously make a decision to do somethings that are "just for me" and work them into our schedule.  Day 15 was about motivation.  I think the biggest motivator for me needs to be remembering how I feel when things are clean and tidy.  I know that things can't always stay that way, but when I forget about the "why" then it's easy to get bogged down and feel unmotivated.  Day 16 talked about figuring out what our "blocks" were and making a plan to work around them.  For me it really is a matter of just doing something, not waiting until the timing is perfect or I have the perfect idea.  I need to just work with what I have a slowly progress will be made.  Day 17 is about determining our cleaning styles based on the DISC personality style.  I test as a "C", which means cautious.  The description fits me pretty well and now I need to figure out how to best use that knowledge to motivate myself and get things going. 

Martha challenges: These have definitely fallen by the wayside.  I'll work slowly to get things done again, but I need to recognize the things that are truly important.

Days 11, 12, & 13

Seems like these days are really lining up with what's going on in my life right now.  Day 11 is about limitations and the understanding that "life is hard."  There are definitely days when you have to just let stuff go and focus on the small things that you can get accomplished.  It's so easy to just throw in the towel when we realize that we can't do it all, but we need to persevere and just press on.  Day 12 focused more on our unrealistic standards of perfection.  This is a hard one for me because I do like to have things done just right.  I've been working to allow myself the grace and patience to just make things "good enough."  That one small change in thinking has already made such a difference.  Day 13 is about fighting fatigue!  As a mom of 2 small boys this one seems to be a constant battle.  I liked several of her suggestions for ways to push through the tiredness, but sometimes you just need to take a nap!  I have to remind myself that if I'm not physically and mentally prepared to "deal" with my kids and the house then nothing positive is going to happen!! 

Martha challenges:  I'm a bit behind, but I'll get there eventually.  Day 11 was to wash your walls and dust the ceiling in the living room.  This just isn't going to happen for me - I have a 2 story ceiling!  So, I compromised and instead focused on cleaning the baseboards around the living room and kitchen and spot cleaned the walls.  We have builder grade flat paint, so it gets marked up all the time!  Oh well, it will be easy to touch up when necessary.  Day 12 was to clean and organize the electronics and shelves and shine all wood furniture.  I didn't get to this at all yesterday - I was just too wiped out.  Maybe today I'll get an extra boost of energy or uninterrupted time and be able to put a dent in it.  Day 13 says to steam clean your carpets.  I'd love to be able to actually clean the carpets - but the timing of it isn't going to happen.  So, in an effort to let go of some perfectionism I'm just going to settle for doing a detailed vacuuming session. 

Day 9 & 10

Wow, these challenges are really hitting home with me.  It's definitely causing me to change the way I see the work I have to do and is helping me adjust my attitude.  Day 9 was about laziness.  I've begun to realize that we all have a bit of a lazy streak within us and recognizing that is the first hurdle.  It's easy to explain away our laziness and claim just being tired or overwhelmed.  I think sometimes we just need a reminder to get up and get moving.  God's grace is sufficient and he will provide for us!  The Mary challenge asked us to pray for a spirit of diligence, something I know I could use more of.  The Day 9 Martha challenge was to sweep, vacuum, and mop the kitchen floors.  I'll admit I didn't get this done on day 9 (it was just too much to work into a day of playing with my precious boys - and refereeing when they weren't being so precious), but I did finish it the next day.

Day 10 focused on how to keep ourselves from feeling overwhelmed.  This is a big one for me and I think her suggestions are great - nothing really new, but a good reminder.  I'm slowly working through these things and I can tell that they're making a difference in the way I feel about our house and the things that I need to do.  The Martha challenge was to wash the windows in the living room and clean the blinds.  It's such a small thing, but it's made a huge difference!  I love seeing shining windows!!

How are you doing?  Are you being challenged?

Day 7 and 8

Days 7 & 8 focused on "The Curse."  The idea that because of the fall of man our domains rebel against us, just as we rebel against God.  No matter what we do there will always be more work.  The carpet will get dirty again, the dishes will pile up, the laundry will be there again tomorrow.  The idea is that we should be focusing on doing whatever we're doing to God's glory and understand that he has given us our domains and work to do to glorify him and prepare us for a greater existence with Him.  Kind of heavy stuff to think about, but when it really comes down to it it makes total sense.  It's so easy to get bogged down because you never feel like you're making any progress.  We just need to keep our eyes focused on Him and what he has called us to do in this life. 

Day 7's Martha challenge was to clean out and organize the pantry.  I pulled just about everything out of my pantry (one shelf at a time) and wiped down each shelf and then evaluated where things needed to go.  I got rid of a few things and found other places for a few things and then just basically reorganized what was left.  I'd still like to add another shelf to the top of the pantry for things that I don't use very often (like the ice cream maker), but for now it's good. 

Day 8's Martha challenge was to clean and organize kitchen drawers.  Thankfully this was a pretty easy task for me.  A few months ago I found some great drawer organizers at Bed, Bath, and Beyond that are customizable and expandable.  My kitchen drawers are pretty big and things would just slide to the back and end up in one unorganized heap.  It was driving me crazy, so I found a solution.  I'm really happy with it!  So, for this challenge I only had a few other drawers to go through and clean up.

Day 6

How appropriate that Day 6 focused on the "Six List."  The idea behind the list is to write out the 6 most important things that you need to accomplish the following day and then systematically work your way through them.  I'm definitely a list maker, so this idea is right up my alley.  I must admit, I sometimes make a list and then when I do something that's not on the list I'll add it just so I can cross it off and feel as if I've accomplished something.  When I have a list of tasks I find that I am much more likely to get stuff done and feel like I've been productive.  I need to get more disciplined about setting out my priorities, but this is a process. 

The Martha challenge was to clean and organize your kitchen cabinets.  Thankfully this wasn't as big a challenge for me as it seemed at first glance.  When we moved into our new house my sister helped me go through our kitchen and we purged out the things that we no longer needed and organized all the cabinets.  I've purged a few more things over the next year and it certainly makes it easier to keep things clean and organized when you don't have things spilling out of every nook and cranny.  I took things out one shelf at a time and wiped out all the cabinets and then made sure to put things back neatly.  (Tomorrow is the pantry - which will definitely be a bigger challenge!!)

Day 5

Day 5 of 31 days to clean is about priorities.  This is one of those sneaky topics that on the surface we (or at least I) feel like we have under control, but when we really think about it and get down to the nitty-gritty find that there is definite room for improvement!!  After some true soul searching this morning I've come to the realization that I have had my priorities a little mixed up lately.  I've been trying to accomplish certain things while unwittingly forsaking more important things.  This is something that I'd really like to remedy and would appreciate your prayers as I consciously make some changes. 

My "new" priorities: God, Russell, our boys, our home, personal time. 

• My plan is to set an alarm for earlier in the morning so that I can carve out some time for personal bible study and prayer.  I'm the kind of person that needs a little bit of quiet at the beginning of the day to get my mind in gear.  When I was teaching full time I would always be one of the first teachers to get to school so that I had some time to myself before the chaos of the day began.  I need this even more now in my own home!  I'd like to find a good personal bible study that I can use to guide this time as I try to create new habits. 
• I want to continue to create a haven for Russell.  I want to be his best friend and his biggest supporter.  I want to consciously submit to him out of love and be available to him for whatever his needs are.  I want to carve out times that are just for him and truly focus on creating a stronger marriage.  He is my best friend and I am so blessed to have him as my husband.  
• I want to be intentional about the things that I do with my boys.  It's so easy to get bogged down by the everyday issues, but I need to rise above and realize that I have been given these precious kiddos for a specific season and a specific reason.  I want to have time to plan fun and meaningful activities for us to do together.
• I want our home to be a sanctuary.  However, this must come after the relationships that truly make our house a home.  I can't let myself jump ahead and neglect the more important priorities in my life.
• I need time to rest and refresh myself.  I will be a better wife and mother when I make time for myself.  This is a hard thing for me to do because I naturally want to serve others and place their needs above mine.  I need to remember that if I'm going to have anything to pour into others I must allow myself to be refueled.

The Martha challenge for today was to clean up the windows in the kitchen.  I don't have curtains, but I do have lots of blinds.  I found a great little tool the other day at Walmart that really made cleaning the blinds much easier.  I need to get it washed and cleaned before the next window cleaning challenge comes along!  I also wiped down the windows inside and sprayed them down with a hose outside.  It's such a little thing, but it makes such a difference!