Finally, I’m Making Some Lists!

 

So I’m making lists galore around here this year. I’ve always known that when I make a list I’m not only better organized, but better prepared. But, I’m afraid many times I neglect making one. Maybe it is fear of seeing all I need to do lined out in front of me. Sometimes it is me refusing to spend the time physically making one up. I’m not sure why, but I can be really good at throwing roadblocks up in front of my success and ignoring the call to make a list is just that.

My first list is a grocery list for the week, followed by a menu plan. A written menu plan, not a bunch of thoughts floating around in my head and rushing to the pantry each night to see what’s for dinner. So far it is working wonderfully.

Next is a list of what I want to accomplish with homeschool for the remainder of this year. I totally stress myself out thinking I am ruining my children’s education on a daily basis because I’m afraid we are not covering it all.

Then is the list for chores I’d like to get done for the day, and for the week.  When it is staring me in the face, it is very hard to ignore that  yes, I do need to clean all the baseboards today.

And the list I am the most excited about is my writing list. I finally have one! No longer am I wallowing in my excuses of what I might do if I have time. Now, because of all my above lists, I actually have the time for my writing. Go figure. And yes, I am a slow learner. All my blogging writing friends have written many a post about organizing, time management, goad setting etc. Well, it took awhile but it has finally pushed me to get it together. Thank you!

Just to make sure you understand my lists I need to clarify. They start off neat and then become a mess with crossed out lines, check-marks, and arrows moving things around.  I’m constantly reminded that my plans need to align with God’s plan and I need to be flexible. The good news is that when I plan, being flexible is easier.

On another front I just want you to know my physical blogging facelift is still in the works. But I’ve already started switching up my posts here to include all aspects of my life, not just writing. Thanks for reading along.

Now, tell me, what about a list do you find the most daunting?

40% Off On Women's Tea Collection

I just got a wonderful offer from one of my affiliates, Tea Collections. They are offering a 40% off coupon that is good TODAY only, after Friday morning you can get 25% off until Sunday. I'm so excited because fall is in the air and I would love to have a nice sweater or two to help ward off the chill in the air.

To get the discount click on my Tea collection link on the sidebar and enter this code when checking out TEA4UFF. It's that easy!

Happy shopping:)

More Early Shopping

Okay, so by now you have all heard that my sister is having a baby around Christmas. Which makes me think of all the traveling I will be doing back and forth across Texas to attend baby showers, holiday parties, and family events. Which leads me to thinking about not only traveling with my kids, but my 2 dogs. Luckily, I have found some luggage of sorts that will really help me with carting my dogs around with me.

I can’t wait to share this review with you from CSN stores.  If you have dogs that travel with you in the car on trips or just to the vet you need to know about this product.  I’m thinking it will make life easier.  I will let you know as soon as I receive the product for review.

 

 

 

*I am receiving a product free of charge to write a review on from CSN stores.

A Baby Is Coming...

Did I tell you I am about to be an aunt again? Well, not until December, but I can't wait! My one and only little sister is having a baby.

Here she is with my kiddos.

We don't know yet if it is a little boy or girl, but are hoping to find out soon. That does not stop me from doing some baby shopping. I love shopping for little baby clothes! It seems many of my friends are having babies and I've found myself needing lots of sweet gifts. So I was happy to partner up with my new affliate Tea Collection. To me it has a down home, yet elegant feel. And the neat thing is it is unique.

Tea Collection has recently launched a new website and has taken their popular products typically found in specialty and department stores directly to consumers. Their clothing is inspired by cultures around the world and it's much more stylish and is always changing. Tea Collection designs clothes for babies up to eight years old. A great option for summer or back-to-school shopping.

So if you need to go shopping for some clothes for your kids or for gifts, please head over to Tea Collection and check them out. I think you will find some adorable clothing that anyone would be happy to receive!

Christmas Shopping In July

I say  it is never to early to start shopping for Christmas, especially if you have little ones on your list!  I wanted to share with you a neat online children’s toy store called Ebeanstalk, that will make your shopping easier.

I love shopping at Ebeanstalk because they have a feature that will list toys by age and  even gender.  They have tons of baby toys to choose from as well.  The website is easy to use, which is a plus for this busy mom.

Sometimes choosing kids toys can be difficult, but they make it a snap.  They have a panel of experts that help test the toys and place them in age appropriate categories according to the development that is occurring during that stage.

If you have a special someone that you’d like to give a gift too, check out their Grow and Learn series.  A gift will be sent out every 3 months, appropriate to the development at that stage.  I think this is a really neat feature that I haven’t found at other online toy stores. 

So remember it is never too early to shop for Christmas!  Have you shopped at Ebeanstalk?  I’d love to hear about it if you have, if not head over and see what neat toys you can find.

Mulberries In The Park

Sometimes it takes me awhile to process things.  I’d like to think that I have so many thoughts going around in my head at one time that I overlook simple things. Like the names of streets and the fact that some actually mean something.  Recently, we were at the park by our house and my husband discovered the big tree we like to swing from is a Mulberry Tree.  Hmmm, just so happens the streets that runs by it is called Mulberry.  Maybe I should have recognized that tree 3 years ago when we first moved in, after all the hint is right there on the street sign.

Anyway, all is good because now we know.  And of course the pioneering spirit of my girls would not let all those wonderful mulberries go to waste.  So off we went to the park with step ladder and pails. The tree is huge and most of the mulberries are up high.  My girls helped each other out grabbing the branches and bringing them down closer.  Little One held the pail for gathering.

It was a lot of fun, but hard work too we discovered.  We picked a lot of little mulberries to fill our pail.

Our purple hands told the story of what we’d been up to that day.

We also learned that these berries are clusters of fruit and little tiny bugs like to live inside of them.  Not to be deterred by such talk we consulted the internet and found you just need to cover them with water and let them sit for a bit. Sure enough, after about 30 minutes all the little bugs floated to the top.

Then Em went to making her pie

Didn’t she do a beautiful job?  The taste was very sweet and yummy.

And my girls were so happy to find yet another thing that grows wild here in the Panhandle that they could put to good use. 

 

Emma’s Healthy Breakfast Sandwiches

My ten year old is on her way to culinary school.  Okay, not quite yet, but it’s where she wants to go someday.  She cooks for us constantly and is thinking up new twists on everyday recipes.  This breakfast sandwich recipe was derived from a sandwich she had at a little restaurant in Galveston, The Lunch Box cafe.

For bread she likes to use baguette, but we use whatever bread we have around. This morning mine was on English Muffin. First toast the bread.  Spread honey over both slices and natural peanut butter on one slice.  Top the peanut butter side with blueberries. Top the other slice with sliced strawberries and walnuts.  You could use pecans, but we had walnuts today. Put the two slices together and enjoy.  It really is very yummy and nutritious, not to mention easy!

I’ve linked this post to Beauty and Bedlam.  Head over there for more Tasty Tuesday recipes!