Working Towards: A healthier me

Good morning everyone! I definitely woke up on the right side of the bed today. First thing I wanted to do was clean. After I spent some time cleaning up different areas of the house, I thought immediately about my diet. Yes I'm one of those people who think they need to lose weight, but I really do. Not only that, but I want to be healthy. First step towards a healthier me is eating better. That means portion control and more vegetables and fruits. I actually want to make my own version of a vegetable smoothie. Of course that means I have to go grocery shopping (and actually avoid getting the unhealthy stuff).

 I have to be honest about my weight, well sort of honest. I have gained 25 lbs since I graduated from high school. I can't believe I let myself get this bad. I'm a pants size larger and a shirt size larger. The only bright side is that I actually have boobs now! I still have my old pants and I honestly can't believe I used to fit into them. What's sad is that I can't even blame my weight on having a kid because I'm actually a lower weight now than what I was!

I'm one of those people that pretty much starts their diet every day because I have such a hard time sticking with it. But not anymore! I'm determined to get this weight off before summer really hits because I want to be able to wear a bikini without being embarrassed of how I look. I'm going to feel good about how I look, I want to feel attractive. The only problem is, where do I start?

My first step is controlling my portions better. You know that label on the backs of all of your food? The one that says "serving size"? Well I'm going to actually follow that instead of letting my eyes measure my food. That's just part of it though, I want to count my calories too.  Not only that, but I'm going to start running on the treadmill again. I used to be able to run a couple of miles in one run, now I can barely run one mile!

So the challenge is to just get started with becoming a healthier you. Eat healthy and exercise. Don't forget to do things that make you happy!

Working Towards: The top 6 things that I think every stay-at-home mom should know

Being a stay-at-home mother isn't as easy as it looks. I feel like every stay-at-home mother should know this 6 tips.

1. Staying at home is a full time job:A lot of people think that being a stay-at-home mother is easy, that all you do is sit on your butt all day doing what ever it is that YOU want to do. Well those people are wrong. It really is a full time job. By "full time", I mean that you never really get a break. There is a lot that you have to do as a parent already, then by adding in the need to do pretty much all of the house work it is like there is no time for you. It can be discouraging and you might feel like people don't appreciate what you do, but that's all part of the job description. Your full time job is literally your life.
2. You need to be creative:
   In order to be an effective stay-at-home mother, you will need to be creative. By creative, I mean that you will need to come up with different ways to be as effective as you can. You don't have to follow the crowd when it comes to your ideas. If something works for you then you should use it. You are your own person and you can't force yourself to work well doing something that honestly doesn't work for you. If you struggle with being creative, just remember to be open to new ideas. 
3. You need a routine:
   This goes with you being creative. You need to think up a routine that you can actually follow. You don't have to be specific with times, but you want to work on a routine to make everything that needs to be done a habit. My biggest things in my routine include Wynnie and Pablo. Include things like taking the dog out and feeding the baby! It's your own personal routine and you don't need to consider anyone's opinion on what should be on it. 
4. Learn to love toys (and TV): 
   This may be a little hard to accept. Well, not the toys part, but the part about TV. Believe it or not I rely on TV sometimes (especially Barbie's Life In The Dream house) to get through my day. Everyone needs a break sometimes and when I need 10 minutes of me time, I turn on the TV and let Wynnie watch what ever I put on. Toys especially will become your best friend. There is no shame in wanting time for yourself, in fact it might be healthier for you and your kids if you get time for yourself. You won't be as easily agitated or cranky when your baby pulls your hair or rips off their diaper and makes a huge mess. 
5. Not everything works the way you want it to:
   This tip is very important. Being a mother you need to expect things to not work out how you want it to. Your kid may fall and get hurt, they may get a fever, and they may throw a huge temper tantrum in the store. The biggest thing you can do is try to keep a cool head. If you need to, take a step back and breathe for a second. Being frantic and angry or scared will only make the situation harder to handle. Not just for you, but for your kid too. When you take a step back and try to get a level head, you can handle the situation in a way that won't make the situation worse.
6. It's okay to have feelings:
   You're only human. If you feel like you're not appreciated, you're upset that your kid won't listen to you or you feel hurt that your spouse doesn't understand you, that's normal. You're allowed to feel like that. It doesn't make you a horrible person for wanting to cry or scream. We all really do have those moments. As much as you wish everything was perfect, it isn't and that's okay. If you feel like everything is getting out of control, maybe you need a break. Find a babysitter or give your spouse the kids for a couple of hours and get some fresh air. When I feel like that, I have my fiance watch our daughter and I run on the treadmill. It works for me, so find something that works for you!

Working Towards: A fun weekend

Saturday

So Saturday was the hottest day we have had in a very long time. It was about 78 degrees outside. We really had every intention of spending the day outside, but between the fact that we didn't have sunscreen for Wynnie and the fact that... Well we really hate the heat we decided not to spend the day outside, instead we spent it indoors like the hermits we are. We actually spent the day doing stuff that we normally do like our homework, playing games, playing with Wynnie, and watching TV. What an eventful day, right? But really it was! Something me and Edwin knew from the start is that we really appreciate playing video games. Now, that mixed with a delicious pasta dinner (which is posted below) and just being together was more than enough fun for us. I have to say that I am a sucker for any type of pasta meal. I love to make it and love love love to eat it. The way to my heart is with pasta! I really have no self control when it comes to eating it though. I could probably eat a whole lb of pasta myself. Hahaha. 

So we didn't do anything super special this weekend. No pillows and blankets in the living room for movie night, no planned date, no nothing. We just took the day as it came to us which believe it or not really worked to make a great weekend. I spend so much time planning special dinners and dates for me and Edwin to spend time with each other that I forgot about the amazing impact that simplicity gives. Not everything has to be perfect to have a good time with the one you love. 

So I promised you a delicious pasta sauce recipe and here it is: (for pizza casserole)

• 3 cans of 15oz tomato sauce
• 1 1/2 Tbsp minced garlic
• pinch of salt
• 1/2 Tbsp parsley
• 1/2 Tbsp oregano
• 1/2 Tbsp basil
• Pepperoni (we use half a stick of pepperoni)
• 1 Tbsp Olive oil

We add all of that together and let it cook on a low heat for a few hours. Stir occasionally. We don't bake ours mostly out of laziness. We only use 1 lb of noodles. We also like to have ours with garlic bread and mozzarella cheese on top of our pasta. Yum! I would have posted pictures, but I forgot to take them when I made it. Next time I make this I will definitely take pictures.

Working Towards: A clean home Continued...

Happy Friday! This is my favorite day of the week. My fiance has off this weekend so I get to plan a
very special date. Special to us means pulling out our laptops or ps3's and gaming all weekend, having a delicious dinner and watching a good movie or two. Yes we're that lame hahah. Today is starting to turn into a great day already. I woke up in a good mood and had some coffee, Wynnie woke up in a good mood and Edwin is getting in a non-cranky mood. WooHoo! I started off the day by immediately getting my chore sticks done. I'm holding off on my weekly ones until Sunday since I want to work on them on the beginning of the week. I have actually been getting my chores done because of those chore sticks. I'm planning a special homemade pasta dinner (mostly because pasta is pretty much the only thing I can cook that actually tastes really good). I'll post the recipe on Monday so you guys can enjoy it too! You may find this silly, but today I'm going to get all of my blankets and pillows and lay them out in the living room so we can be the ultimate lazy.

Happy Friday guys!

-Working Towards

Working Towards: A clean home

So I woke up this morning with a new outlook on cleaning. For a while now, I've been dreading any sort of cleaning. In reality, my house is a complete mess again. My living room is yet again the cleanest room in the house. Cleaning doesn't have to be something that you dread every time you wake up, it could become something you look forward to. Even a few small things that you do when you walk past a certain area of the house could make a huge difference. The tough part is the things you don't think about or look at on a regular basis. Those things for me would be dusting just about anywhere, mopping our hardwood floors and tidying up all of the shelf surfaces in our house. I never think to do those. 

So the trick is juggling the easy with the hard. To do this, I decided I'm going to use popsicle stick. Now you're probably wondering how popsicle sticks are going to help me with my cleaning, I can understand why you would be confused! I mean really, popsicle sticks?! 

Popsicle Stick Chores

Well what I decided to do is take two plastic cups, one for the "good" or daily and one for the "bad" or weekly. 

I'm sure you know where I'm going with this now. I painted all of the popsicle sticks white and wrote on each of them a different chore. After that I separated them into the two cups (Daily and Weekly). 

My plan is to finish every stick in the daily cup daily of course and I want to work on the weekly cut within the first 3 days of every week. I chose the first 3 days because I want the weekly chores to always be about a week apart. 

Next post I'll update you guys on how the popsicle stick chores are working out!

Working Towards: Spending time with the kids & Black and White planner

I spent today with my nephew, niece, and daughter. Let me start this post off first by introducing them.

Nephew:

My nephew is about 9 years old and special needs. Though he is a challenge sometimes, he makes every bit of effort you put into raising him worth it. His life started off pretty rough but with the support of his family, he has made it through a lot. He is currently doing cyber schooling and receiving physical, speech and occupational therapy at home. He can say a few words out loud but mostly communicates with sign language. 

Niece#1:

My oldest niece is a goofball. She is about 7 years old and is like a little mini-me. The only thing that I can really say about her is that she's growing up way too fast, they all are! When she was a lot smaller she used to follow me around the house and we would do our make up together. We have always had a lot of fun!

Niece#2:

My youngest niece wasn't here today, but I thought I would introduce her anyways! She's a little munchkin with a munchkin voice! Hahaha. She's 4 years old and about to start school next year! I'm so proud of her. My nieces and nephew all try to act like parents to my daughter which is absolutely adorable. 

On to today!:

 We had a lot of fun but I realized we don't really spend that much quality time together because of all of the electronics we have. Luckily my daughter is young enough to not have to worry about cellphones and computers with her, but my niece and nephew are always glued to some kind of electronic. And yes I will admit that so am I! When I realized this, I felt awful. I used to be so close to my nieces and nephew and now we've all let our electronics get in the way of spending quality time together. I've decided that after today I'm going to make sure I set aside time with the kids that doesn't include TV, cellphones or tablets. I'm going to find a different activity for every time they come and visit, even if it only lasts 15-30 minutes.

The challenge is on and I'm up for it. Are you?

What can you do with your kids?

• Arts and crafts
• Toys
• Games
• Make believe
• Bake a snack or cook dinner
• Go play at the park
• Go to the beach
• Take a walk

You can do anything! Just remember to have fun and let them have fun too. When I babysit I'll post a new fun activity that I'm doing with the kids that day, how fun!

Freebie Black & White Planner!

So I made this planner a little while ago for myself but ended up improving it for you guys and even added a blog post planner to it! I made it originally because I never seem to have enough colored ink to be able to print whenever I want to, but I always seem to have black ink. I'm sure that I'm not the only one in this boat. 

The first page in the planner is the calendar. It's a monthly calendar in a one page layout with a notes section at the bottom of the page. There is a space at the top of the page to write the month of.

The second page is a 2 week planner from Sunday to Saturday. Also in a one page layout, I found this planner to be very helpful for writing down any important detailed notes for the week of and week ahead. I suggest to add washi tape or use colored pens or pencils if you want color!

The third page offered is a blog post planner. This page features a spot for your blog title, the posting date, where to post to, a notes/brainstorming area and a spot for which pictures you want to include in your post.

 You can get the planner here! I have it so you can fill in all of the dates and months yourself so you can use it for how ever long you would like.

Thanks for reading!

-Working Towards

Working Towards: Spring time! (Organizing Drawers)

It's finally starting to feel like spring! There is no snow, it's warm outside and it has been raining non-stop today. I would like to say that I'm getting ready to start my spring cleaning, but my fiance has taken it upon himself to make the house spotless!! I am so shocked with how clean everything is. It seems like he makes a better house wife than I do. Hahaha!

Today I've been spending my time thinking about all of the things that I could throw out or sell. My house seems super empty, but believe it or not it is filled with useless junk. Things that I can't see myself using even if I had the time. The biggest waste of space that we have is an exercise bike that I only used once or twice. It is so oddly shaped that I really have no where else to put it. The only spot I have for it is in the middle of our office. Talk about always tripping. Yeesh.

My mom and I always talk about different ways to clean out and she has actually been putting out at least one box of junk every garbage day (Yes they have a whole basement full of useless garbage). Luckily we don't have that much junk in our house. Anyways, today I have been working on turning old saved boxes, like 12 pack of soda boxes, into my new drawer organizers. I'm not being fancy with them and decorating them because I will only ever see them when I get changed. 

Me and my fiance share a dresser because we don't really have all that much clothing. (Well, I guess that's because I always take forever to do our laundry). My goal is to make it so we don't struggle with sharing the dresser so much! 

Homemade Drawer Organizers

• First I cut some boxes to the height of our drawers so they would fit. I also used an old shoe box which worked perfect and now I'm going to be saving those to use! I wanted to use boxes that were mostly the same size so it would fit a little better in my drawers. 

• After that I simply put the boxes in the drawers and taped them together where I needed to because they kept slipping and sliding away from each other every time I bumped them. That would have gotten pretty annoying trying to fix them every time I opened my drawers! 

I ended up using the smaller ones for my socks and undies which worked great for keeping them separated. I usually have them all in one drawer mixed with my fiance's stuff too and can never find what I'm looking for. I also folded and then rolled up my shirts so I could see them all at once and they would fit better. 

My next post will include a simplified black and white planner printable. I use this one as a blog planner!

-Working Towards :)

Working Towards: Freebie Planners!

If you're like me you probably struggle with cleaning your house on a daily basis. I'll admit that I'm pretty lazy when it comes to taking care of the household. Every now and then I get a boost of energy that pulls me through cleaning maybe one room without a problem (usually the easiest room to clean for me is the living room), but it never really lasts. I always make excuses on why I can't do it even though my excuses would never really hold up if someone questioned them. I always feel like I'm too busy, but too busy doing what? Watching TV? That's not a good enough excuse for not taking care of the household.

I got to thinking the other day that I really need something to keep me going. I ended up making a simple FREE Planner that I really hope you all enjoy. The monthly calendars are in a two page layout. Just click the link above to download it!

 I also have a few extra pages that you may like. They are daily planner pages that I actually really love to use because I can quickly jot down anything for the day of or ahead. You can find those here. I end up usually decorating my planners with washi tape and colored pens. (My favorite are InkJoy!)

Anyways, in the next couple of days I will be posting about Spring cleaning and organizing your drawers!