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!