Busy again? Still? Always!

It seems that we are about to start a busy time in our lives again. Madison and Cathryn are in the beginning days of soccer. We had Cathryn's parent meeting today and all the girls except 1 will be back from last season. Cathryn is thrilled about that. Madison has a practice tomorrow. We decided to pull her from Academy soccer since we are not going Select next year and put her in Rec. soccer. She is happy with the decision - so far. She says she just wants to play soccer and she doesn't care where it is. She has missed it so much. She is antsy to get back on the field.

In addition to soccer, Cathryn is continuing with gymnastics. Last week I found out that she is moving classes again. This time she is moving to the Red Team class. Its still two classes a week, but they are now an hour and a half long. She is so excited. She thinks she has hit the big time. The Red Team is the group waiting to be on the big team - The Gold Team. Some of the older girls (late 6yrs and 7yrs and up) are competing and Cathryn can not wait until she can.

In addition to being on the Red Team, she will also continue with her special tumbling class. She absolutely loves that class. Its a by invitation only (by the head coach) and when we started in the Fall, there were 8 girls. Last night I think I counted 12 in the class. They have all come a long way. The head coach said that he has noticed a big change in Cathryn's maturity (as a gymnast) since she has started in the tumbling class. I have noticed that her bum is getting round...so cute

After this coming week, when gymnastics is done with their annual testing, Cathryn will be moving to her new class. That is when the "fun" will begin. There will be something going on every evening until Saturday. M/W/F Cathryn gymnastics - T - Madison soccer - Th - Cathryn soccer. Then Saturdays will be fun - two games to divide my time in when I can.

Tony is coaching Cathryn's team again (which he loves) and I am the manager. I will need to be at as many games as possible because of that. I am hoping that there aren't too many conflicts between the girls' games so that we can be at both. Next weekend Tony is going to a Coaching clinic offered through our Soccer Association. Once he has finished the clinic he will be registered as a class "E" coach. I am so proud of him for doing this. His goal is to make an auxillary team for Cahtryn's team. One that will be fewer girls and more competitive. One that plays in 3v3 tournaments and such. We talked with a couple of the parents that we want on board with this today after the parent meeting and they are very interested in it as well.

In addition to this we are in the midst of Co-Op and trying to get school in. Cathyrn finished her Kindergarten math (she started last spring) and we are moving into 1st Grade math. She thinks that is pretty cool. Madison is pressing on with her work. She has hit a few walls, but we are working through them and she is progressing along nicely.

I'm Back...

I was just starting to roll with all my organizing and blogging. Then my computer crashed - again - and all my plans for blogging had been set aside. I am still in the process of getting my home organized. The kitchen is looking much better. I hit a snag when I cleaned out my pantry though. I like to use plastic storage containers for various things in the pantry. It not only looks nice, but it also keeps things sealed away from the elements. Anyway, when I cleaned out the pantry, I ended up with a few of the containers that were not being used. I washed them, then realized I have no where to store them..hmmm...

I went to the grocery store the other day and was so bummed. I had planned on putting the grocery receipt here so I could begin tracking our spending somewhat. Well, with the crash, I just threw away the receipt. I have a dilemma with our grocery budget. In the grocery allotment of our budget it also includes household products. That makes it really tough. As an example. I spent a total of about $140. Of that amount over $50 was for non food items that were needed such as razors for my husband and laundry detergent along with other necessitites. All in all, my grocery portion was only about $85. I think that is awesome!!

Well, as you can see, my computer is back up and running - yeah!! So I will try to get back into the groove of blogging more.

Adult ADD

I have so many ideas in my head right now, I wonder if I will ever see them go from thought to reality.

My plan for yesterday was to start working on organizing my kitchen, but I was side tracked all day. Every time I would get close to getting done enough with what I had to do in order to begin my organizing, something would pull me away. Either one or the other of the girls would need something, the laundry buzzer would go off, or I would have a thought - go act on it and get sidetracked.

I never thought I was a candidate for ADD, but when I think about it, I am so totally in that category. I blame my children because I am a focused multi-tasker....ok, in my head maybe. That is the way I USED to be - until I had children - see why I blame them? LOL

I do love my children dearly and love my life at home

with them. I would not trade it for the world. I have just pinpointed an area that I need to work on.

Yesterday, I made Roast Chicken in the crockpot. It was so good. I paired it with a bag of steamer veggies and couscous. Madison and I made chocolate chip cookies too.

I also put together a baked oatmeal recipe for this morning's breakfast. Last night, I was able to finish a goal and I am very proud of myself.

A few months ago (in an effort to spark Madison's interest) I began reading the C.S. Lewis series, The Chronicles of Narnia. I completed the final book last night/this morning. I was up until after 1am finishing the final book, The Last Battle. My favorite book is the 2nd book, The Lion, th Witch and the Wardrobe followed by either The Magicians Nephew or The Horse and His Boy. The other books in the series were ok, but those were my favorites. I am looking forward to seeing The Dawn Treader, but I can wait until its either at The Red Box or on Netflix.

I am now going to tackle the Little House Series. I am teaching The World of Little House at Co-Op so I want to read the books to refresh my memory on them.

I am also teaching another class at Co-Op. I'm teaching Creation Science to Pre-K/Kindergarteners. It ought to be interesting. The lesson plans I was given are for 1st-2nd grades...Ugh. There is no way I am going to be able to use those. I thought I would be able to when I originally signed on to teach Kindergarteners. However, with the 4yr olds, I am going have to do some more basic things. So, I am in the midst of doing up some lesson plans.

I was up to Week 7 of my plans when I called it quits last night. I just couldn't concentrate for very long. Later last night, Tony told me that the computer crashed - AGAIN! UGH!!! That is the 3rd time in a year that our computer has crashed. The worst part...I lost all the work I had done on the lesson plans. I am so bummed!!! Also, I had finally gotten all my bookmarks, etc. set from the last time the computer crashed (about 2 months ago). It is soooo frustrating!!

I am currently using the old laptop that we allow the girls to use...man is this thing in need of replacement!! It is old...the "v" key is missing, it will abritrarily start typing on a different line then where you are...and some of the other keys stick. I will persevere though!

Anyway, today I had hopes again of getting into the kitchen organization. However, since I was so tired this morning after my late night I was behind in getting anything done.

I did get up early enough to put the Baked Oatmeal in the oven for breakfast. It was good. Both girls liked it.

I dont know if it was me, or the girls themselves, but they argued and bickered all day. It took Cathryn over an hour this morning to do her math..ugh. It normally takes her about 20min. to get all of her work done. Madison worked rather diligently today, which was a good thing.

Anyway, tomorrow is another day and I am determined to start on the kitchen organization. Wish me luck!

Getting my life in order.

In an earlier post I mentioned that I finally got around to cleaning out the closet in our bedroom. That made me think of all the other areas in our apartment that could use an organizational overhaul.

My next organizing project is my petite kitchen. I am trying to think differently about my kitchen. It is the one thing I don't like about our apartment. Since we moved in, I have called it the Hobbit kitchen..lol. I am trying to think of it as petite and not Hobbit-ish. It is the smallest kitchen I have ever had the "pleasure" of using. There is no counter space to do a

ny real elaborate cooking in and there really isn't enough storage. I loved the kitchen I had in our rental house. There was space galore and plenty of storage. I guess after having the luxury of that kitchen, everything else will have a hard time measuring up.

As you can see by the pictures that it really needs help. I am going to reorganize the pantry, cabinets, and counter tops to try and make it a little easier to work in. I am trying to find the positive and I am very thankful that I do have a stove that works well and a dishwasher!!

When I get my project complete I will post pictures. Hopefully there will be a noticeable difference in the before and after.

Today's grocery bill

Ok, my goal for this week was to spend as little as possible at the grocery store. I was trying to hit between $35 and $40. My total was $46.97. I think I would have been in a better range of my goal if I had gone to Walmart to shop. Instead, because its snowing and my visibility was limited, I opted to go around the corner to our local Kroger. I did look for the deals on the things that I was needing which helped a little bit, but probably not as good of deals as I could have gotten at Walmart. I may go on a fact finding mission this week and compare my purchases - just to see which is better for us.

Anyway, my bill was as follows:

24pk Kroger water - $2.50

Box Barella Pasta - $1.00

Kroger Brand Frosted Flakes Cereal - $1.67

Kroger Brand Cocoa Crispies - $1.67

1 gal. 2% Milk - $2.49 (I thought it was $1.88...hmm...I guess I misread the sign - that must have been the milk that was in front of a lady that camped out in front of the milk case...ugh)

6 - Gala apples - $2.00 (they were 3/$1.00)

6 - Granny Smith apples - $2.00 (they were 3/$1.00)

Kroger Orange Juice - $1.99

1 bag - Clementine oranges - $3.99

Flour - $1.34

applesauce - $1.48

Craisins - $2.50

Pizza Sauce - $1.49

Spaghetti Sauce - $1.85

Old Fashioned Oats - $1.19

Whole Chicken - $4.73 (the cheap brand - $.88/lb)

White onions - $.93

Grapes - $3.74 (this was a big splurge...I saw them and thought that would be a nice change of fruit)

Bananas - $.95

According to my sales receipt, I saved $5.88. I guess thats a good savings.

The only thing I did not get because they didnt have any was ground turkey. That can usually be picked up at Kroger for $2.49 for between 1 and 1 1/2 lbs. I will go back later this week

Now that I am paying attention to the prices of what I bought, if I had not purchased the 2 "splurge" items - grapes and craisins (which totalled $6.24) I would have only been $.74 over my budget..hmmm...I need to rethink my "spur of the moment" spending.

New Year's Bandwagon

There has been a lot of buzz since the new year about people getting organized, starting and/or trying to stay on a budget etc. and I have caught the wave..lol.

Last month (before Christmas shopping) Tony and I had a discussion about our finances and budgeting. My detailed husband made up a budget that accounted for everything in our lives and it looks pretty good - on paper. Reality, eh, not so much -so far!

One of our goals is to hopefully be able to take an actual family vacation this year. Our long term goal is to save for a house. That is a wonderful dream that I would really like to become a reality.

So - I have been reading a plethora of blogs these days about saving money on groceries and I am ready for the challenge of reducing our grocery budget in order to save more money. I love the idea of using coupons to the max and getting money back at the end of my trip..however, the reality is that I don't use coupons very often because the things we usually buy don't normally come with coupons.

I know people who "save big" because they use coupons. My question is - do they shop for things that they normally would and the coupons are a handy way of saving? Or - do they shop based on the coupons and their eating habits have been changed to accomodate the "savings" that they receive?

I think I'm going to do as some others have done and post my grocery buys so I can track how I am doing on our budget. I am also going to try to cut down on the little trips to the store because I forgot something or I think of something different than what I originally planned on. That will be hard for me but I'm going to try.

I'm also going to try and do a better job in other areas of my life to stay organized. There are some days when I feel like I am being pulling in a lot of different directions and by the end of the day, I am worn out and can't think anymore.

Busy Busy Busy

I know it's been a while since I have posted, but things always get in the way. We had a busy summer doing I don't know what, but it seemed that we were constantly on the go. We are well underway in our school year and other fall activities. We are almost done with Co-Op for the semester which will be nice. For some reason, I am not enjoying it this semester as I have in previous semesters. Maybe I just need a break. The girls are loving it.

Soccer is winding down for the season. Madison is on the Dallas Texans and they have had a so-so season. Cathryn is also playing soccer on a rec. team. When I signed her up, the organization sent out an email asking for team volunteers. We signed up late, so I was excited to see that Cathryn had made it on a team. I signed up to volunteer as what I thought would be team mom. My thought was that meant I would send out emails regarding snacks...LOL. Boy was I wrong. I am the manager. The first task I had as manager was to secure a coach for the team...WHAT?? That was just nuts. I was telling Tony that and he is now the coach of Cathryn's team - The Tigerettes.

I don't know who is enjoying the team more, Tony or Cathryn. Tony has been amazing with the girls. They all listen to him and respond well to him. Its so cute. The team has only lost 2 games and both were due to the other teams not following the rules about allowing girls to stand in the goal. Cathryn is loving it too. She gets out on the field and dominates most of the time. We are contemplating putting her on an academy team with the Dallas Texans to see how she does with that, but we are still in the thinking stages of that. The main thing would be the monthly fee...and is it worth it at this age to spend that much to play soccer or would she have just as much fun on the rec team at a much lower financial output from us. Its a hard decision for sure.

Madison's soccer team is playing in 2 leagues this Fall. They are doing ok in each. It think its alittle much for them because sometimes they have 3 games a weekend. Friday/Saturday/Sunday some weekends. That is challenging for all involved. I am looking forward to the season to be over and we start indoor. I think it will be more relaxed and indoor - no weather issues.

In addition to all the soccer we do during the week, Cathryn is continuing with gymnastics. She absolutely loves it. She tumbles everywhere she can these days. The head coach pulled me aside last Spring and told me that he wanted to invite Cathryn into a special tumbling class he does in the Fall...well, she is taking the class and is LOVING it. The class is usually on Friday evenings but they had a make up class last night. They were doing some things differently than they do in their normal class because there was a class of older girls going on so they couldn't use some of the equipment that they normally use. Cathryn is learning to do back and front handsprings. At first, I was skeptical that she was understanding what they wanted her to do, but last night she was spot on. She is really catching on...its fun to watch her. I am very proud of her accomplishment with her gymnastics. She is one of the youngest in her regular group in regular class as well as the youngest in the tumbling class. This is another dilemma that we face..do we continue with her gymnastics and set soccer aside, or allow her to do both on limited basis, or what. So many things to think about.

I didn't have the opportunity to do many things when I was growing up and I vowed to let my children explore any and all their interests. I love that both of my girls are athletic. I only wish they would also allow themselves to be girls too..lol. They are both such tomboys-ugh!

Our life is busy, but I wouldn't trade it for the world. Do I get tired of all the driving around? Yes, do I get tired of sitting around waiting during practices? Yes Do I love seeing the looks on my girls' faces when they are doing what they love? YES! That is why I wouldnt trade it for the world.