The beauty of a Saturday with no plans

I love Saturdays. Chris is home and we get to spend time as a family.  I especially love Saturdays when we don't have any plans for the day. We can do whatever, whenever... it's a beautiful thing.  Today was one of those days. It ended up being such a good day!

We started out with a pancake breakfast... Connor and Dylan's favorite! (and mine if I'm being honest)  After breakfast and clean-up, we had some fun with paint.  We made the boys' hand-prints and foot-prints, Connor and Dylan's were quick and easy. I love hearing their laughter as I paint the bottom of their feet. They are both SOOO ticklish! Sam's footprint was easy. But, it took Chris and I both for his hand-print. If you've ever tried to get a baby's hand-print, you know what I mean... unless you wanted a fist-print. That would be much easier!

After that we played with toys for a while and Sam laid down for a nap.  It was one of those really nice, long naps.  Precious boy!!

While Sam was napping, Chris was going out to work on his truck so I took Connor and Dylan out, too. What a BEAUTIFUL morning. It was comfortable out without a jacket.  I put play clothes on them. I gathered a bowl, some spoons, and a couple of pans... and showed them how to make mud pies! They had never made mud pies before and it was REALLY hard to talk them into getting dirty. I guess that's my fault because I know I don't let them go out and get dirty enough! That's going to change now after seeing how hesitant they were to get dirt/mud on them. We are going to be making mud pies on a regular basis... and other dirty stuff!

 Only using spoons at first.

 Finally getting their hands in the mud.

 Their hands are in... but that is where they draw the line! Their clothes stayed mud free. We'll work on that next time! :)

Proud of their pies.

 They wanted trees to "grow" out of them so we broke off limbs from a tree and "planted" them.

When they were finished with their pies they wanted to jump on the trampoline. It's one of their favorite outdoor activities. And I love it, too. They burn LOTS of energy. Sometimes I get in on the jumping fun, too!

Wrestle mania!

Next, we saw Daddy going out to the building so they wanted to go, too. They played in Daddy's ongoing (and going, and going, and going, sigh) project. Connor says it's HIS blue Firebird!

Next, they decided they wanted to play with their "outside" toys. So, they...

Played basketball:

Rode their bikes:

And I have no idea what this game is:

So after all that... it was only noon! So we came upstairs and got Sam. He woke up happy and half naked! How did he do that??

I got lunch ready so we could all eat together. Well, all of us except Dylan. Soon after we came inside, we couldn't find him. I called him a few times and he didn't come. Finally, I checked his room...

I guess all the outdoor fun wore him out! :)

After lunch, while Dylan was napping, Connor wanted to watch a little TV, so I asked him to keep an eye on Sam for me while I did a few things. The next time I passed by, this is what I found:

I love how Connor put his arm around him!

Next, was Sam's bath time.  He has just started taking a bath without crying... and the trick is to let Connor or Dylan or both take a bath with him.  I guess it makes him feel safer to have someone else in there, too.  Connor happily took a bath with Sam and was such a big helper!

But, after I took Sam out, Connor had more manly things to tend to:

And Sam played on my bed for a little while:

Dylan woke up from his nap... after 3 hours!! And Sam went down for another nap. I guess it was a sleepy day! :)

The day ended with an impromptu dinner (from Papa John's no less) and fellowship with dear friends. They brought their 2 boys (both around Connor and Dylan's ages) and they had a great time playing together.

A Saturday with no plans... LOVE IT!

Putting order in the chaos (or some more appropriate Greek word)

I can remember in many sermons pastors trying to describe a certain passage of scripture and saying that there isn't a word in the English language that can truly portray what the author was saying. That the Greek doesn't accurately translate into English. Well, that's a little how I feel when I'm trying to describe raising 3 children all under the age of 5. I can use the word busy or chaotic or crazy... but surely there is a Greek word that paints a better picture!

Don't get me wrong... I LOVE it! I wouldn't trade it for anything else in the world. It's just that sometimes, I feel a little... well... overwhelmed.  I love for there to be order and organization. I used to be pretty OCD about it and, even still, on some days I can feel the OCD creeping up. But, I have found there is no better therapy for that than loving my children and loving to see the joy on their faces as they are making memories.  Memory making for young children can be VERY messy!

Still, I do need to feel some sense of order and organization. Otherwise, I have found that I don't get much accomplished. After all, raising children is just one of my jobs and I need to get other things done, too. I am easily distracted and it helps me tremendously to have a plan or list or something. So... I made a notebook. I mean, what a simple thing and it makes me oh so happy! In case I ever wonder later in my life how I managed everything when all the boys were very little... I thought I would chronicle the notebook - because its a huge help!

Here is the notebook:

In it, I have:

A calendar where I keep track of birthdays, holidays, special events, etc. I don't use this as my daily calendar. We have one up on the wall in the kitchen where I detail what everyone has going on a certain day. That way I know my hubby will take a peak at it every now and then. But, this one is just nice for a snapshot view:

Daily schedules... I have one for each day detailing our usual activities we need to get done for the day. This isn't something we never veer from. Things come up all the time (like fun play dates or even just a need for us to get out of the house) and I have to maintain flexibility, but this is just a good guide for our day. Like I said, I'm easily distracted so it helps me if there's something to keep me on track.

For each day of the week I usually have some sort of theme for that day.  For us, Monday is kitchen day. I like to make several meals that day and refrigerate them for later in the week.  It doesn't always work out that I get to do it, but I love it when I do! It makes dinner prep for the rest of the week a breeze! Tuesday is the day we go to our school group (24 weeks out of the year) and we also run errands that day. Wednesday used to be laundry day, but since I've started hanging clothes to dry, I do a load a day now. So, Wednesday is now for cleaning the bedrooms and bathrooms. Thursday is "office" day. I use this day for meal planning, couponing, finance planning, lesson planning, or whatever else needs to be done in the office.  Friday is another cleaning day. I vacuum, dust downstairs, and sweep/mop downstairs. Saturdays change every week depending on what we have going on. If there isn't anything planned, we do a special project. Sunday is our day of worship and rest.

Also, our daily schedules sometimes change with the seasons. For instance, in the fall I schedule time for Christmas prep activities (shopping, wrapping, decorating, etc.) and in the spring I schedule time for decluttering and yard sale/consignment prep. Here's a dalily schedule page:

School... Here I like to keep special project ideas, art/craft ideas, articles, lesson planning sheets, etc.

Meal planning - I detail out what I'm going to cook for the week and if I'm trying a new recipe I put that in this section, too.

Other sections in the notebook include:

• Extracurricular activities - where I put their baseball schedules, etc.
• Prayer requests/ Praises - for our family to pray for and give thanks.
• Goals - this one is empty right now, but I've been thinking of listing and tracking goals we have.
• Family worship - for family bible study/devotional ideas.
• Expense planning - for receipts or bills we need to pay or keep track of.
• Coupons

That's about it for the notebook. It gives a little order to this crazy (or whatever Greek word goes best here), joyful, happy, wonderful life!

Save, Save, Save!!

Chris and I have really been focusing lately on being better stewards of our money. We want to do what we can to spend less and save more. So, I thought I would share some of the money saving ideas on here. :)

1. We are refinancing our home! We bought our home over 8 years ago and we were able to secure what was considered a low interest rate at the time. But, in today's economy, it is a very high rate. Looking forward to a much lower payment each month!

2. We use a rewards-earning credit card for almost all of our purchases instead of a bank card. We pay it off each month so we don't accrue interest. We cash in our points for gift cards (usually home depot) and get lots of free stuff!

3. We do not use gas at our house... everything is electric and our bill is sometimes out of control! So, we started thinking of things we could do to lower it. These tips make for more work, but they do save!

• We stopped using our dish washer and now wash all of our dishes by hand.
• We adjust our thermostat a little lower than we used to in the winter, and we adjust it a little higher in the summer. A couple of degrees make a big difference.
• We stopped using our dryer, except to "fluff". We hang our clothes to dry and then put in the dryer on low heat for about 10 minutes. (I have to thank The Castleberry Clan for this tip!) This also makes the clothes stay in better shape longer. We can only do 1 or 2 loads a day this way because I only have room to hang 1 load at a time around the house. I don't like hanging them outside because they don't smell clean to me after hanging outside all day. Maybe someone has a tip for this problem??

So, in our house, we hang the clothes:

On hangers in the laundry room:

On chairs in the dining room:

On the shower rod and the side of the bath tub in the bathroom:

Over the banister:

Or where ever else I can find something that's still! :)

4. Couponing. I have to admit, I am not very consistent with this one! I get on a kick every now and then, but I am off the wagon more than I am on it. I definitely could do better. I clip coupons and organize them by "type" (baby, grocery, health, etc.) and then slide them into baseball card organizer sheets in my notebook. I don't know if this is the "best" way to do it, so I'll accept suggestions and tips! :)

5. Home-made laundry soap. OK... so, I haven't actually done this yet. I am still trying to get through all of the commercial laundry detergent we already have. But, I have a lot of friends who do this and love it. It works in regular and high-efficiency machines. It smells GREAT, it's EASY, and it's CHEAP!! You can make a liquid version or a powder version. I have friends who love both. Here are the recipes:

Powder Version:
1 lb Borax
1 lb Baking soda
1 lb Washing soda
1/3 bar of Fels-Naptha soap (shredded)
Mix together in a bucket and use 1 tablespoon of detergent per load (more for very large or heavily soiled loads).

Liquid Version:
4 cups hot tap water
1 Fels-Naptha soap bar
1 cup Arm& Hammer Super Washing Soda
1/2 cup Borax
Grate bar of soap and add to saucepan with water. Stir continually over med-low heat until soap dissolves and is melted. Fill 5 gallon bucket half full of hot tap water. Add melted soap, washing soda and Borax. Stir well until all powder is dissolved. Fill bucket to top with more hot water. Stir, cover and let sit overnight to thicken. Use 1/2 - 3/4 cup per load depending on size of load. Over time you may have to stir it because it will settle.

6. Vinegar and Baking Soda work wonders for cleaning! No need to buy a lot of different cleaners. Although, I don't think I could do without Pine-Sol or Windex. :)

7. We signed up for Amazon Prime. We find a lot of things are cheaper on amazon than in the store and you don't have to pay tax at checkout and we get free shipping with Prime... not to mention lots of free movies, apps, e-books, etc.

8. We stopped eating out so much. We are trying to keep that to once a month and making it a special treat.

9. We make weekly meal plans and I try to plan our meals and grocery shop around what is on sale that week. This not only saves money, but it makes it easier on me to know what we are having for dinner each night and not have to figure it out at 5:00. Sometimes I will make several meals in one day (usually on Monday) and refrigerate meals for later in the week. That way I just have to heat things up the other nights. This especially works well with Spaghetti, Chili, and Sloppy Joes - they always taste better after they've had time to marinate. Also, we always have a "pot-luck" night with leftovers! If you're not big into meal planning, check out emeals for money saving weekly meal plans based on sales at the store you choose. It's $5/month, but they do all the planning and grocery list making for you... plus they provide all the recipes. :)

That's it for now. I'm always up for more money saving tips... so feel free to make additional suggestions!! :)