Cleaning.....Easy????

Cleaning As Easy as 123....I thought Yeah Right! lol My house has A LOT of space to clean, I have to stay on top of it or it goes to pot very quickly. We don't even have the basement finished yet, and I still get overwhelmed by it all sometimes. As the kids get older it is surprising what good little helpers they can be at keeping up on everything. I have no idea how those people keep a huge house clean all by themselves besides it must be a full time job. I thought I would never be able to stay up on it without working my butt off to do it until......I found this.

Cleaning as Easy as 123.... For working moms and it is kind of based around moms that are working full time outside the home, however even though I dont have a "full time job" I still am pretty much working full time and I think most of you are as well. We fill our days with park visits, and swimming lessons, violin lessons, dance lessons, ranch work, yard work, crafts, projects, reading with kids, teaching kids, pre-school...... probably we work more than 40 hour weeks really and a lot of it takes place outside the home! AND then we get to come home and work some more just like mothers that work outside of the home as well. So I feel like all mom's really are working moms. Especially this time of year.

I loved this post from "Or So She Says" , it was a good push for me. I started doing this 1 week ago today, and I have felt such a huge sense of relief from lots of the stuff I was cramming into midnight hours. Even having a clean "shined" sink and everything vacuumed makes me feel so much less behind. Also at the very bottom of the post under the "If mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy" sign there is another little link to a more detailed post she did a while back.

I also am trying the whole flylady routine again. I signed back up on Monday and am doing the babysteps which is all about establishing good habits. And I love their zone idea which will help me so much with my house and I love the working top to bottom idea. So, if you haven't heard of flylady check it out, http://flylady.net/pages/FLYingLessons.asp . The website can be a little overwhelming that's why these smaller condensed posts from "Or so she says" (button is on the left side of my blog) make it a little easier.

If you have any great tips on how you keep everything looking livable, please let me know I would love any suggestions. Laundry.... now that's another story. :)

29 Favorite Things

Since my birthday was last week (the 15th) and I turned the big 2-9, I want to really celebrate this last year I can say I am in my twenties. I know next year I am going to probably cry all day long. Birthdays really get to me sometimes...even my kids's really are hard. Bittersweet. On one hand I am grateful to continue to live and have my kids grow healthy and strong and change and develop BUT life just goes by so quickly. I am 29 years old. I have an almost 5 year old, a 3 year old and a 6 month old. I am happily married and I LOVE my life 99% of the time. I know I am blessed to feel that way, and that there are MANY people who don't. I just want to freeze time. I don't want another year to pass. I know age is just a number, and its not really about even getting older... its more about having another year pass that I will never get back. Kind of a negative/depressing way to look at life, I know. This year I have really tried to focus everyday on enjoying every moment. Stopping and pausing with my kids, not being in such a hurry all the time because I always have way too much stuff to do and not enough time. We have spent HOURS upon HOURS of time together as a family, and I just sit back and absorb all I can like a sponge. Take mental pictures, and wish I had a tape recorder in my brain where I can just keep all the funny and cute things and conversations we have together. For example: Driving home from the ranch last night, Kash was on my lap driving. Just me and him. A cute cottontail runs across the road. I say "Oh look at that adorable little bunny, he is running across the road saying hippity, hoppity, hippity, hoppity, please don't run me over." Kash says in his very monitone voice "Mom. Bunnies don't talk." I say "Oh? They don't?" Kash, "No mom. Bunnies don't say any fing. Rollercoasters and wood don't talk eee-ver. (either). I say, "Oh, ok bud" And we just keep driving. Rollercoasters??? hmmmm.

Anyway, I am celebrating and sharing some of my favorite things in my life right now. These things are not necessarily the most important things or even the most significant. Just things I enjoy or that make me happy and smile. Some make life easier and some are just things I plain love. Soo, this may be boring to you since these are my things in my life. Too bad. :)

I bought these DARLING towels for myself with some money my Grandparents

gave me for my birthday. My kitchen is teal and red and these go PERFECTLY.

I love, love love them. Kade told me that he would have bought me towels a long time

ago if he knew they would encourage me to keep my stove clean. lol

Kash's belt buckle button.

Kadence's long pigtails.

I love the short little ponytails on Oaklynn's.

You just HAVE to have some now right!?!? They seriously are so freaking adorable, they have glitter on them too so they sparkle, the pictures do not do them justice. Want to know where to get your own... she makes them handmade and they are awesome. All different seasons, holidays, occasions, custom..... every single one, ADORABLE!! Her name is Amanda Davenport, here is her towel blog http://alittlekitchenspice.blogspot.com/. Her prices are very reasonable, and she is pretty darn fast considering all the work I am sure these take. I cannot wait to get some Halloween ones... go to her October archive to see the ones she did last year. She is on facebook, and said she is starting them now and taking orders. Can you see why these are definitely a favorite!?!

More favorites to come this week.